


Blink of an Eye

by Szallejh



Category: Guild Wars 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Asura - Freeform, Fanfiction, Guild Wars 2 - Freeform, Other, Scarlet Briar - Freeform, gw2, mordremoth - Freeform, szallejh, zhaitan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 90,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25895818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Szallejh/pseuds/Szallejh
Summary: What if everything you thought was real is shattered within the blink of an eye? What if everything that had been a game for you, is your reality now? - The story of a gamer girl, who is suddenly stuck in her favourite game and has to built up a whole new life in Tyria - and besides fight a dragon and keep her social life intact.
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somehow... I was stuck right in the middle of Tyria, in a game called Guild Wars 2. 

Bizarre flashes of light, dashed towards my direction in an incomprehensible speed.

It felt as though I was being dragged forwards, while simultaneously an invisible force was also pulling me towards the other direction.

 _"This must be what time travelling feels like"_ , a thought briefly flashed through my mind.

Thinking clearly was not my biggest problem though, as I actually had no idea of what was actually happening to me. The last I had remembered, was that I had been on my way home and it had started to snow again.

Then out of nowhere, _something_ had dazzled me.

At first, I thought it was the lights of the nearby cars passing.

But all of a sudden, I was stranded here - in this chaos of light and noise which I was not able to discern. The sound around me was a mixture of crackles, crunches and squeaks. Somehow it sounded familiar, but there were far more unknowns in this cacophony of new noises.

The lights which had been a sheer white color for the first few seconds of my strange journey, had now taken every imaginable color possible. They changed with no recognizable rhythm and pulsed with no real consistency.

The pressure finally let go of me a bit, and I used the opportunity to let in a deep breath inside my lungs. Now the whole thing seemed way less threatening.

But then the pain started.

I felt the sudden urge to scream, however the pain in my ears made every sound fade out, and it caused my face to twist into a grimace. Every muscle in my body had clenched up like a tight coil, and they seemed ready to explode at any moment now. Beneath the aching muscles, my bones felt as though they were threatening to split in half.

I tried to blink, but my eyes felt like they were going to burst from the amount of pressure on them.

With every flash of light dashing towards me, a needle invaded my skin. And within the blink of an eye, nothing inside my body felt the same as it had before.

Slowly, the pain faded. The yearning scream that had been building in my lungs finally burst. It was near-deafening for my wounded ears, and it sounded way too foreign.

That was not my voice! Was it? It had never sounded as strange as it did now. Deeper... or just _different_. Whatever the light tunnel had done to me, had changed something. And not just my voice, but possibly my body as well.

The lights faded, and I was left in a room filled with nothing.

My strained eyes relaxed in the welcoming darkness, and everything around me seemed to have disappeared. The warped and torn landscape from the vision before had been replaced with more recognizable colors and discernable shapes.

Suddenly I collided with something, my body jerking when it landed upon something really hard. Still full of dizziness, I raised my head and took a harsh breath - only to be immediately shaken by an enormous coughing attack. It took a few moments to calm my breathing down a bit.

I wiped away a few tears from out of my eyes and then used the opportunity to look around.

I had escaped the light tunnel - but I was not at home anymore.

Broad arches surrounded me, and from far away I could see the distant shapes of mountains. Their peaks were scattered with the occasional waterfalls and encircled by a few forests.

I looked around more, immediately taking notice of how the green meadows around me were teaming with flowers and life. It was a sure enough sign of a blossom Spring, wherever this was.

The nearby animals that were grazing on the Spring bounty were not familiar from the ones I already knew.

Not far from me, flew a rather large beetle, but I was too much in a state of shock to care much about the abnormal size of these animals.

 _"Where the hell am I!?"_ I thought to myself.

With one hand I ruffled through my hair - and stopped immediately.

I glanced at my right hand in disbelief, struggling to recognize there were only four digits now instead of the usual five. Not only that, but they were unusually thick for human proportions and had claw-like ends to them.

Besides that, the skin covering them was also way too dark! Instead of the pale white skin that did not see much sun all year round, my new skin was a dark bronze.

A quick glance to my other hand quickly told me of the same transformation.

Everything else had changed as well. My arms had become way too short, and my forearms were much more broad and thick than before.

I grabbed at my hair, staring at the long red strands in confusion. It had never been this length or color.

It all seemed familiar to me in some strange way, but it seemed that secret didn't want to reveal itself quite yet.

It was only when I glanced at my feet that I finally got some semblance of recognition.

 _"Three big claw-like toes and a clumpy shape. These are Asuran feet!"_ I thought, my eyes widening like saucer plates. It also helped explain the new unusual body structure.

But how was this possible? I hadn't taken any kinds of drugs, nor did I ever try virtual reality. I had just been walking home from a normal work day!

 _"Maybe someone had mixed something into my drink?"_ I mused, a concerned look on my new Asuran-features.

Though I couldn’t quite explain the situation, it all felt extremely real.

I was inside the body of an Asura, and I was sitting amidst the fields of the Metrica Province. A feat proven by the iconic geometrical shapes and floating cubes nearby.

Somehow... I was stuck right in the middle of Tyria, in a game called Guild Wars 2. 


	2. First Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But then as though a switch had been flipped, the expression of disbelief had vanished from Zojja's face. It was replaced with the natural curiosity of the Asura. “Keep talking", she said.

Chapter 2 - Rata Sum

I wasn't sitting at the table very long before a grumpy looking Asura brought me a jug and a steaming plate of food. He dropped the plate off without a word and disappeared before I was able to thank him. But I didn’t really mind at all, because I currently wasn't in the mood for having a conversation with a stranger.

I took a deep swallow of the drink before me, the taste drawing my face into a grimace. While I couldn't say what exactly it was, it had a fruity hint and was pretty strong. Whatever it was, would have to suffice for my current situation. I gave a quick poke to my food before concentrating on my dinner. My stomach was rumbling as the hot steam reached my nostrils.

The previous excitement of landing into this new world had overtaken the desire for things like food and drink during these past few hours. But now that there was food sitting in front of me, I realized how starved I truly felt.

 _How long did it take to get here?_ I briefly thought.

The feeling of time had been lost during my strange journey. Thinking back on it, the adventure had felt like only a few minutes had passed, but my body was clearly telling me otherwise.

I looked back to the presentation before me. Much like the jug sitting next to my food, the plate was also made of some polished wood. Its surface was already decorated with various scratches and cracks on the rim. It wasn't anything special, but at least the weathered-looking material didn’t seem to crumple away in my hands. On the plate was a big piece of meat that resembled something to that of pork. It was a little too burned in my opinion of personal tastes, but it didn't appear too terribly charred. Beside it lay a clutch of cooked vegetables consisting of broccoli, carrots and kohlrabi.

A strange mix, that was for sure.

Carefully, I took the fork and scooped a portion of vegetables right into my mouth. My taste buds were hit with a surprise of diverse, culinary herbs. It was foreign, but not bad at all.

My focus moved towards the meat on my plate and I searched around the table in vain for a knife I could use.

 _No knife?..._ I thought, concern passing my face. Just as I was about to raise my hand to ask for something to cut my meat, my action was interrupted.

"You do have teeth, don't you?" a voice next to be suddenly asked. It sounded slightly childish, and its tone was at a near-annoying level.

Either I spoke my thoughts out loud, or the clear confusion on my face had simply been that obvious to the wandering eye.

The stranger had totally ripped me from my daydream of kitchen utensils, and with a jolt I soared up and bumped my knee against the table rim. I sucked in a breath of air through clenched teeth, suppressing a painful groan.

 _Ouch, that hurt!_ I winced, doubling over a bit while the pain dulled. I threw a glance towards my unexpected guest.

Immediate recognition caused me to bump my already injured knee once more when I saw who was sitting next to me.

The female asura was bald and had ash-gray skin. Big blue eyes were intently focused on me, and her small mouth was grinning in clear amusement. The iconic pointed ears were covered by gold-garnished plates, some of which had brown ties dangling down from them. The straps seemed to sway and fro with every little movement she made. The rest of the armor she wore was decorated in rich blues, and it sparkled as thought it had been newly repaired and polished.

“Y-You... You are Zo-Zojja! THE Zojja!” I muttered, the only thing coming to mind with what I could meekly bumble out. I was too busy holding onto my injured knee while staring upon the famous Asura with my mouth wide open.

“That’s who I am, I suppose. Indeed. A real genius you are", she said with an arched brow.

I realized how stupid I was looking and my face heated up from disgrace.

Zojja cleared her throat and looked in my eyes. “And you are...?”

“Oh, ehm...", I nervously began. There was a pause between the two of us while a battle fought inside my head. _Your name, dumbass! Just give her your nickname!_

Grinning with newfound confidence, I reached my out. “I’m... I’m Szallejh!”

Zojja blinked, then looked down to my extended hand for a moment before taking in hold after a brief show of confusion. Asura shaking hands was not the most common greeting for their culture, and it had caught her off-guard.

 _Rule number one: Hand-shaking - human,_ I inwardly groaned.

“Well, _Szallejh_. To return to our previous topic of conversation. You don't have a knife, because the teeth of an Asura are obviously sharp enough to do the task all on their own", Zojja said, sounding as though it were the most obvious thing in all of Tyria.

She spoke in such an articulated and confident manner, that it seemed to have completely swept away any of the little confidence I had already been holding onto.

I wondered if she knew there was something strange about me. After all, here I was - an Asura with absolutely no clue about how to actually act like one. Perhaps she had some inclination that I was actually a young woman stuck in a completely different world.

But more likely was that Zojja probably just suspected I was the biggest Skritt brained idiot in all of Tyria.

Maybe she assumed that I was the result of some Krewe's experiment gone horribly wrong, and my mind had been completely frazzled in the process. It certainly wouldn't be the first time for something like that to happen.

“Eh, yes, of course...", I replied, sounding utterly idiotic. I impaled at the meat with my fork, preparing to bite off a big piece. Though it was a bit black on the outside, it still tasted good. The pork was unexpectedly juicy on the inside, which was a nice surprise.

Quite literally I had bit off more than I could chew, and it was causing me a whole mess of other issues. I swallowed after some more laborious chewing, and wiped off the excess juice with the back of my hand. Next time, I would know better to only bite off small pieces instead.

I looked up, freezing upon realizing that Zojja had been observing my lack of ability to properly eat food in a decent-enough way.

 _Great_. Now I was the biggest Skritt brained idiot _with_ really bad table manners as well. At this point I didn't think it was possible to have a worst first impression with someone.

But Zojja didn’t seem too much about my lack of table manners. She ordered herself something to drink and shifted a bit towards me. "So... what exactly happened with you out there in the fields?" she whispered in a low enough tone that no one else inside the tavern would be able to hear it.

“Eh?” I replied, my mouth still filled with food. I was too focused on getting food into my stomach to really understand what Zojja was currently up to.

The same grumpy Asura from before who had brought me my food, wordlessly came by to drop a jug in front of the respected elementalist.

"Well then. You appear out of nowhere, float in the air for a while like some kind of strange anomaly and then land on your butt in the middle of a meadow", she said, taking a quick swig of her drink. "That didn't look like teleportation, if you ask me."

I stared wide-eyed at the Asura next to me re-telling exactly what had previously occurred.

She continued, her confident voice never wavering. "After that, you stare ahead for some ludicrous amount of time and seem to cough your guts out. So if this was some kind of teleportation, then I would highly suggest you replace or repair the last device you used. Otherwise you might not arrive at your destination in one piece the next time", she said with a grin, making no apparent move to hide her curiosity.

From the way she had just explained it, the occurrence must have looked really strange for any wandering eyes. I really didn't grasp the basics of what had happened to me anyway, and hearing it from the mouth of someone else didn't much help that case.

“It wasn't any kind of teleportation. At least I don't think it was..", I finally replied after a pause to absorb her re-telling. I took a deep drink from my drink to help wash down the food I had just scarfed down. Casually, my tongue touched a row of small, sharp teeth. The action made me grin.

“Then what else was it? Some kind of spell?” Zojja asked, raising a brow towards me.

“Believe me, I have no idea what happened!" I exclaimed, biting off another piece of the charred pork. "All I know is that it's completely absurd, and you would never believe me anyway. Why, you'd probably think a lab ceiling had crashed down upon my head."

It felt strange to say things like that, but I figured I would get more used to it while my new voice became more familiar. At least it was starting to sound like _my voice_.

Zojja lightly giggled. "Well, I had already assumed that. But believe _me_ , I have seen and experienced many things within my lifetime. I've fought dragon champions and their masters, and won to tell the tale! I am the greatest genius in Rata Sum. If someone is going to figure out some absurd thing, then it absolutely should be me. Don't you agree?" she said, pointing her thumb proudly towards her chest.

I scratched the back of my head nervously and looked around, making sure that no one was listening to our conversation. "Well, the truth is... is that I’m not really from here.”

“I already hypothesized that, given your strange behavior!" Zojja teased. "So then, there are other Asura outside of Tyria?"

“No, not like Tyria", I continued, thinking carefully about my next words. "I'm not from this country, or even from this world."

Confusion appeared upon Zojja’s face, and there was little doubt she was probably thinking about the fallen lab ceiling again.

"You should know, there is another world besides this one... One without magic and dragons. It's a world full of humans. No Asura, Sylvari, or Charr in sight. In this world though, the people know the stories of Tyria. Of Destiny's Edge, the Pact-"

Zojja shook her head, signaling that she didn't believe my words as the signs of doubt were clear upon her features.

Frustrated, I took another swallow. “See, I knew you wouldn’t believe me!"

I leaned my chin against the jug's rim and deflated a breath of air noisily through my nose. "Even I don't want to believe all the things that happened to me today..."

But then as though a switch had been flipped, the expression of disbelief had vanished from Zojja's face. It was replaced with the natural curiosity of the Asura. “Keep talking", she said. She waved to one of the nearby bartenders, and ordered two more drinks for us.

It was already my fourth round of drinks though, and with every swallow I could feel more dizzy while the words flowed more freely from my tongue. I told Zojja my whole story with even the smallest of details behind them. I was more open to answering questions, and there seemed to be a lot that the famous Asura elementalist had wanted to ask.

I had never been a good drinker, and with the fourth jug now sitting in front of my nose, I was feeling comfortably warm and my nearby surroundings seemed to be spinning.

Eventually Zojja seemed to be running out of questions to ask, and we were becoming more quiet in each other's presence.

Intently I was staring down into the reddish brewage, wondering why the jug was suddenly moving by itself even though my hands weren't anywhere near it.

 _Was this some kind of earthquake?_ I thought through a clouded mind.

My focus jumped back to the drink in question. “Tell me, Zojja... What exactly is this stuff we are drinking all the time?”

Even Zojja's face had adopted a bit of a blush, but she seemed to be able to handle bigger amounts of alcohol much better than I could. "This, my dear, is Juniberry-Gin. The best gin you will find in and around Rata Sum", she explained, her voice still steady and solid.

_Hah, that’s why I had recognized the fruity touch before!_

I continued, my words slurred. “Well, all the same to you, it seems incredibly efficient at getting you intoxicated. Either that or I'm just not able to hold my drinks with this new body", I mumbled.

Zojja laughed again. “Well, that is something you can fix quite easily through enough built up tolerance. But I would be more concerned about the important things for now, if I was you."

“For example, the steadily growing pressure on my bladder", I murmured. The effects weren't just becoming noticeable inside my head.

I scratched behind one of my impossibly long ears before asking my next question. "Eh Zojja... where do I find... I mean... the..."

Zojja laughed out loud again before pointing towards a direction somewhere in the tavern. Her silvery laugh sounded beautiful; which almost sounded like chiming bells. When she was laughing, the annoying undertone she usually had while talking seemed to completely disappear from her voice.

Her apparent, _'I know everything and you know nothing'_ attitude was truly shining in that moment.

Well in my case, I knew she was right about most everything anyway. I was convinced it wasn't just me she was sharing that attitude with, but it was something she had adopted towards everyone she first met. It was made even more readily apparent whenever she was using the tone in front of her former master, Snaff.

I glanced in the direction Zojja was now pointing at, taking notice of a dark nondescript door at the end of a hallway. There was a faint green light glowing just above it.

 _That must be it_ , I thought.

Carefully, I arose from the bench seat while trying desperately to avoid more knee-against table impacts. From what I could feel, there was already a gigantic bruise beginning to form over my whole leg, and I didn't need an added color to it.

But just as soon as I was standing, the room started to rotate in a dizzying circle. I quickly grabbed onto the table's edge, steadying myself for a moment so that I wouldn't fall over.

“It seems you won't be able to handle a fifth round this evening", Zojja teased again, leaning back in her chair to enjoy the show.

I rolled my eyes in a way that I was certain she would be able to see, and carefully floundered my way towards the door. The thing seemed to be impossibly far away now.

 _Rule number two: Don’t drink too much the first time when you don’t know what you’re drinking!_ I reflected.

After what seemed like ages but was probably only a few seconds, I arrived at the faraway door. It was a rather plain and wooden-looking thing, and it's surface showed a few scratches which must have told some stories. I supposed there were probably a fair share of troublemakers and brawls inside this particular tavern, given the similar state of the dinner ware I had been served earlier.

On the door hung a simple disc, the device showing the symbol of three waves all laying on top of one another.

Simple meaning for a bathroom, right?

The light above the door frame was still glowing green, and I took that as the go-ahead to step inside.

As I reached for the handle, I could hear the running sound of water. But in my inebriated state I was struggling to comprehend if that was a genuine reality, or it was just the dizzying thoughts clouding my head.

When I opened the door, the sound grew much louder and I knew that feigned noises were one of the last signs of whatever soberness I had left. I entered the room and closed the door behind me, frowning when I saw a lack of any key or lock anywhere. But the light above which could also be seen from the inside, had now turned from green to red.

"Let’s hope that no one else is so drunk that they won’t recognize the color difference between green and red", I said to myself.

The room itself was nothing more but a small room without any visible windows. The ceiling glowed in geometrical patterns, and I could hear a steady humming besides the rushing water. The sound of the water was coming from some kind of toilet, as I now realized it looked to be more like a block with a hole in the middle. Inside the hole, was a channel which was causing the constant sound of the water rushing noise.

I briefly looked around, unable to locate any toilet paper as I had no clue about what Asuran peculiarities were supposed to be.

With trembling fingers, I tinkered around with the belt on my waist. Such a feat would have been considerably easier if I had been in a sober condition. After a few seconds, I finally managed the difficulties and was able to loosen the belt so I could take my pants off and sit down. Too curious for my own good, I threw a glance down at myself and sighed in relief to see that the body structure of an Asura at least had a few rudimentary similarities to humans.

At least I hoped so.

A few minutes later, I left the room. The light above changed back from red to green again automatically, signaling its vacancy. At the very least, I had gotten the chance to glance into the toilet-peculiarities of asura.

 _And next time, you will be more prepared for the sudden water jet coming from underneath!_ I briefly thought, suppressing a giggle.

Compared to the journey there, the room wasn't spinning nearly as bad as it had before. I reached my destination and with a sigh, I squeezed back onto the bench with Zojja.

She chuckled, and pushed my jug back towards me. “This one, and then I suppose it will be time for you to rest a bit. Don’t you think?”

I nodded and took a sip from the juniberry-gin. I hadn't known the taste of these particular berries before, but I really did like them. Especially the fermented version.

“Suppose we have a lot to do the next few days, hm?” I asked.

“You can say that again! I have to introduce you to the Arcane Council members. Not only that, but explain your situation without sounding like a maniac", Zojja prattled on with amusement on her face, not sounding the very least bit concerned or stressed about this dilemma. "And then we'll have to get you an accommodation, and find you some work..."

Suddenly a question popped up in my head. I frowned then and stared at the Asura next to me. “Why do you have such an interest in me? You don't even have any responsibility for what happens to me. If it's any same to you, why do you care about what happens to me and how I am going to cope with all of this?"

Zojja seemed truly surprised by my question and took a moment to think about how she would phrase her answer best. “Well, Szallejh... it's not every day that an Asura falls down from the sky. You appear to be a very interesting specimen. And to be honest, I want to the first person to discover whatever you are."

She continued with a pointed finger in the air. "Besides... you're quite likeable. At least I think you are."

The last sentence seemed to have surprised her, and I smiled before emptying the last contents of my jug.

There was a brief moment before Zojja grinned too, and she cleared her throat before pulling the jugs to the end of the table to signal they were both done. "It's already getting pretty late. I think we should head up to our rooms now."

That sounded fair enough to me. I was exhausted, as the day had been incredibly tiring. The thought of the upcoming days certainly didn't help that fatigue too much either.

Zojja accompanied me towards the bar, the location leading towards a spiral staircase which led to several floors upstairs. On the third floor, she led me to a narrow hallway that was lined with doors on each side. She stopped in front of a door that had the number 13 carved into it.

“This is your room, isn’t it?", she asked. "It would do you well to lock the door behind you. We can continue talking tomorrow during breakfast."

With those last few words, she gave a small wave and disappeared back into the stairwell.

I fumbled around in my bag to find the key before heading inside. I was sure to lock it behind me, just as I had been told. Inside, the room was dark and I could only make out the outlined shadowy figures of furniture.

With a new sense of urgency, I threw my backpack into one corner and launched myself into what looked like a hammock. The material was comfortable with a slight musty smell, and it eased a bit under my weight. At the floorboard, laid a neatly folded blanket which I quickly took and spread out over me. It was light in material, but it kept me warm enough.

Just barely after making myself into a cozied bundle, I was already fast asleep and dreaming of the crazy light tunnel I had endured earlier that day. At least, without the pain and other vexations that came with it.

The next morning I felt as though I had died a thousand deaths over. I was awoken by the bright daylight, its rays coming through a three-cornered window right next to my hammock. I noticed now that there were red curtains on each side of them, but I hadn't thought about closing them the night prior.

The light burned my eyes the second I opened them. I sat up and stretched carefully, feeling as though every muscle inside of my body ached like I had a severe stiffness. However that was the last of my problems, as my head was throbbing so hard inside my skull that it felt like it was going to explode at any moment.

I wasn't sure if it was the after-effects of the travel or the alcohol, but I figured both had probably created a dangerous concoction on me.

The photosensitivity and the pain cooled down a bit after I laid awake for a few minutes. With finality, I kicked the yellow-blue squared blanket to one end of the hammock, and swung my feet over its rim. The floor was cold the second my feet contact it, but that didn't really upset me. It was only then that I realized I was still wearing my outfit from yesterday, and it was now wrinkled beyond belief and had an unpleasant odor.

"What I would give for a nice warm shower", I said distractedly, running a hand over my face.

Still sitting on the hammock, I inspected the state of the room. It appeared to only be furnished with the bare necessities. The floating hammock was located near one of the smaller walls. The other wall was housing the singular window, and opposite of that was the door which was still holding the room key in its lock.

Calming.

Just in front of the opposing wall stood a small open bureau, which housed a bowl and a pile of clothes on top it.

The bowl certainly looked promising; even though it was not the nice warm shower I wanted. But at least it was something to clean myself.

Ignoring the pain of my stiffened joints, I took off my shirt and let out a startled squeak. I had never seen a naked Asura before, even though I figured the females of the species wouldn't have breasts. There weren't any indications of nipples either. There was a bellybutton, and that was about it.

I poked at my stomach, fascinated by the leathery skin. It was so much harder and tougher than human skin. My dark complexion was streaked with light grey spots coming in every size and shape.

A full body mirror would have done wonders for my curiosity right now.

After I had completely taken off my clothes, I stepped towards the bureau and looked inside the bowl to see it was filled with blue, glimmering water. It didn't look like the usual water I was used to bathing with, but I figured it couldn't be all that bad considering the tavern was allowing their patrons to use it.

I grabbed one of the clothes and dipped it into the bowl to see what would happen. Nothing special here. My wandering thoughts of it being some kind of deadly acid that would erode my skin and tingle to a promising demise that was inherently evil seemed to be a false claim. Au contraire, it just felt like boring, normal warm water.

 _Wait, why is the water warm?_ I wondered.

I washed myself down with the cloth from top to bottom, the water leaving behind a feeling of cleanliness and warmth on my skin.

"Okay, maybe this is just as good as a warm shower", I said out loud to myself.

After cleaning, I dried and unknotted my long hair with my fingers while walking back to sit down on the hammock again. My hair was a fiery red color, and it was intensely curled with its length reaching to my hips.

Not bad.

Now that I felt much better compared to before, I slipped back into my old clothes once more. The grimy garments dulled my feeling of cleanliness a bit, but I didn't have much of a choice. Once I got an accommodation, the first thing I was going to do was look for a proper selection of clothes.

Swiftly I knotted my hair into a bun, glad that it would stay in that style without the use of any hair clips or hair ties.

It was then that I realized this room was lacking a second door with a familiar symbol of the waves on it.

"Damn it...", I cursed, never having been the one to like public toilets.

I shouldered my backpack with a sigh and headed out, locking the door behind me. I walked down the length of the hallway, searching for a door with the telltale sign of a green light. I finally found one, the thing appearing at the very end of the hallway. After finishing my business, I made haste down the stairs back towards the bar.

Zojja was already there waiting for me, one elbow braced on the wood of the table while talking to the bartender. When she saw me approach, she ended her previous conversation and came walking up to me with a smile.

"Ah, good morning!" she announced. "You aren't much of an early bird, are you?"

I shrugged and dropped the room key wordlessly. “I didn’t really have much of an easy day yesterday, as you can imagine."

Zojja laughed her beautiful laugh again. “I like your humor, Szallejh. Well come on then, it’s senseless to start the day without a good breakfast. After all, it’s the most important meal of the day!”

Now it was my turn to laugh, and I followed Zojja to one of the nearby tables. I could already see its surface prepped with two plates and mugs. The plates were filled with egg, golden slices of bread, and something that appeared to look like cooked beans. The mugs were steaming with what must have been some kind of tea.

Breakfast was an oddity that was shared even in my own world, and it was comforting to see the similarity. Once we began to dig into our food, I asked Zojja about what our plans were for today.

“First things first, we need to travel to Rata Sum and request an audience by the Arcane Council. But that shouldn't be too difficult, considering my overqualification", she said with a confident tone.

She continued. "Then we'll need to get you an accommodation. This should be the easiest task for us, because I know all of the college's dorms have a few open rooms to spare. Even to those who are currently enrolled in their school."

"But the more difficult task is going to be to find you some work. At the very least, you're going to have to fund several things on your own."

I sipped carefully on the mug, trying not to scald my tongue. _Yep, definitely tea._

I looked to Zojja. “And what opportunities do I have? There has to be some dirty work that is not already done by golems.”

The other female Asura nodded. “Most likely. But I doubt we'll be able to find a krewe that'll take you in considering you lack technical knowledge and such. But there are some taverns around that are always seeking people to help sell drinks. Granted, it's not the best way to make money, but it will for the start.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go", I said cheerfully enough through a mouthful of eggs.

On the streets of Soren Draa, we were met with a noisy hustle and bustle.

I really had slept much longer than I had intended to, because judging from the sun's height in the sky, had meant that it was nearly midday already. We were greeted at nearly every corner; signaling that Zojja was a huge celebrity for Asuran standards.

We ascended several stairs until we finally stood in front of the portal that would lead us to Rata Sum. As soon as I saw the swirling blue mass in front of me which we would have to go through, I started to feel a bit queasy.

I thought back to my previous fears, which was that portal travelling would feel very similar to what I had felt on my trip to Tyria. But I swallowed the fear down and glanced towards Zojja.

She gave me a pitying look, as if she knew what battles I was fighting inside right now. She nodded to me encouragingly. “Are you ready?”

I nodded. “Ready.”

Together we stepped through the portal, and suddenly it felt as though I were wrapped inside a cold blanket. All the previous noises around me became silent, and I felt a soft pressure all around me. But the feeling was over in the blink of an eye, and instantly the cold blanket was replaced by the hot jungle air of Rata Sum.

I took a deep breath. _That was it?_

Okay, maybe it seemed I could get used to portal travelling.

I opened my eyes carefully and stepped down from the portal platform. I recognized the three-cornered cove, where three other portals would lead to different regions of Tyria. I swallowed, and looked down the distance some ways. It was no secret that Rata Sum was just a giant floating cube above Province Metrica, but now that I was standing on top of it without any kind of barriers holding me back. We were so high up in the air that you couldn't even see the ground below, and I found that to be a little bit disturbing.

Zojja cleared her throat to get my attention. “So, here we are. Welcome to Rata Sum, the main city of the Asura!” With a widespread gesture, she pointed to the city spread out in front of me.

We ascended a few more stairs and went towards the middle of the main area. On each side, were stairs leading towards deeper levels of the cities. There you could find the motley crew of laboratories, colleges, and various kinds of shops.

I made it my mission not to lose sight of Zojja, even while I was scurrying right behind her in step. The walkways were crowded with Asura of diverse figures and faces. Some were tall, nearly the same height as a human juvenile. Progenies, the Asuran children, were only about the height up to my own belly button.

Tailors and vendors screamed out different types of merchandise, while hooded figures were likely dealing with their own illegal activities. Bold, given it was the middle of a public place.

The air stirred with a broad mixture of different voices, murmurs, screams, laughs and metallic steps of golems. Occasionally a random explosion from one of the labs underneath shook the concrete. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry, and verbal duels started in every which way. The tension within the city felt thick, but that was mostly because of the constant competition of who the bigger genius was.

Head shaking, I passed all these random figures and wondered if it was like this at every time of the day. I would figure that out soon - and much more.

Zojja had finally stopped walking, and I almost ran straight into her back given how distracted I was. We stood under a big floating cube, which I quickly recognized to be the Arcane Council.

“Here we are”, Zojja said with a proud tone. She walked over to speak towards what must have been a highly-ranked Asura, though he retreated after a short discussion which allowed her to activate a few buttons on his control desk.

Zojja gave me a soft all-knowing grin. “Step number one was easier than I had thought. They are going to teleport us up there", she explained while glancing upwards.

A blue circle appeared around the both of us, which was now humming louder and louder.

The famous genius turned to look at me again. "This might feel a bit strange."

Before I could even get a word out, a blue energy beam swooped down towards us and enveloped both Zojja and myself.

* * *

**AN:**

Depending on what time you're reading those chapters, you might notice a quality difference between the first chapters and the next ones. That's because a friend of mine is helping me re-write the story bit by bit in terms of grammar and sentence construction, and while we're constantly working on it, there might still be some "old" chapters left.

Thanks for this, Zappy. You're the best!


	3. Rata Sum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But then the expression of disbelieve vanished of Zojjas face, replaced through the natural curiosity of the asura. “Keep talking.”

It wasn’t long before a grumpy looking Asura brought me a jug and a steaming plate without a word and disappeared before I was able to thank him. I didn’t mind at all, because I was not really in the right mood for having conversations.

I took a deep belt and drew my face into a grimace. Though I couldn’t say what was inside, it had a fruity touch and was pretty strong. Perfect for my current situation. Another belt and then I concentrated on my dinner. My stomach was rumbling as the steam reached my nostrils. The excitement had taken too much control over me to care about stuff like food and drink during the last hours, but now I felt like I had starved for at least three days. _How long did it take to get here?_ I had lost every feeling for time during my strange journey. Thinking about it, it had felt like just a few minutes, but my body said something else.

Same as the jug, the plate also was made of polished wood, already with scratches and cracks on the rim. Nothing special, but at least the material didn’t seem to crumple away in my hands. On the plate laid a big piece of meat, pig I supposed, a little too burned in my opinion, and besides it was a clutch of cooked vegetables. I recognized broccoli, carrots and kohlrabi. Strange mix.

Careful, I took the fork and scooped a portion vegetables right into my mouth and was surprised by the diversity of culinary herbs. The taste was foreign, but not bad at all. As I wanted to focus on the meat, I searched in vain for the knife.  
_No Knife?_

“Have you ever seen your teeth?” I just wanted to raise my hand and ask for something to cut my meat, when a high, kind of childish and almost annoying voice could be heard beside me. Either did I speak my thoughts out loud, or my confusion had been obvious to tell.

The voice totally ripped me out of my thoughts, and with a jolt I soared up and bumped the knee against the table rim. Hissing, I breathed for air and clenched my teeth together and suppressed a painful groan. _Ouch, that hurt!_ I doubled over a bit, and as the pain reduced I threw a glance at this unexpected guest.  
And bumped the knee once more as I recognized who was sitting there next to me.

The asura was bald and had ash-gray skin. Big blue eyes focused on me interested and a small mouth was grinning in amusement. The pointed ears were covered by small gold-garnished plates, some of which brown ties dangled and swayed to and fro with every small movement. Also the rest of the armor was hold mostly in blue and sparkled as it had been newly repaired and gentrified.

“Y-You... You are Zo-Zojja! THE Zojja!” was the only thing I could say in this moment, for more I was too busy holding and rubbing my knee and staring upon the asura with my mouth open.

“That’s who I am, I suppose. Indeed. A real genius.” She said with an arched brow. I realized how stupid I was looking and my face heated up in disgrace.  
Zojja cleared her throat and looked in my eyes. “And you are...?”  
“Oh, ehm, I...” _Your name, dumbass. Just give her your nickname!_ “I’m... I’m Szallejh!” Grinning, I reached out my hand to Zojja, which she took after a brief moment of confusion. It didn’t seem to be common practice for asura to shake each other’s hands.

_Rule number one: Hand-shaking - human._

“Well, _Szallejh_. To come back to our basic topic. You don’t have a knife, because the teeth of an asura are obviously sharp enough to do this task on their own.” Zojja said this with amazement in her voice, which even I could hear, and I supposed I carried a very strange impression with me. An asura with absolutely no clue about asurans. So either a young woman, who suddenly got struck in a completely different world, or - which had to be more likely to Zojja - a fully retarded member of her species. Maybe she assumed that in my krewe some experiment had gone so badly wrong, that it had totally screwed up my mind. Wouldn’t be the first time for sure; stuff like this happened all the time.

“Eh, yes, of course.” I replied idiotic and impaled the meat with the fork, to bite off a big piece. Tasted good, though it was black on the outside, it was unexpected juicy on the inside, and I really bet on pork. But now I realized what Zojja had meant with her words. The big piece of meat obviously caused chewing problems, it would be better next time to bite off only small pieces, one after another. I swallowed and wiped a drop of meat juice from my chin with the back of my hand, as I realized that Zojja had been watching me all the time. Great. A retarded moron with really bad table manners. A better first impression would not have been possible at all.

But Zojja didn’t seem to care much about that. She ordered herself something to drink and shifted a bit towards me. “So. What exactly has happened with you out there in the fields?” She whispered, so no one else inside this tavern could hear it.

“Eh?” I said with my mouth full, because I was too much focused in eating to understand what Zojja was up to.

The same grumpy asura, who had brought me my food, now wordlessly plunked a jug in front of her, and she took a deep swallow. “Well then. You appear out of nothing, float in the air for a while and then bellyland in the middle of a meadow. That didn’t look like teleportation, if you ask me. Then you stare at the distance for ages and cough your guts out. So if this was a kind of teleportation, then I would urgently replace or at least repair the teleport device if I was you. Otherwise, you won’t arrive at your destination in one piece next time.” She grinned at me and made no move to hide her curiosity. Sure, the way she explained it, it must have looked really strange for outsiders. I didn’t grasp the basics of it anyway at all. Now hearing it from the few of another didn’t left the case less strange.

“It was no kind of teleportation... I think.” I took a deep swallow from the jug to wash down the meat. Casually, my tongue touched a row of small, utterly sharp teeth, which made me grin too.

“What else was it? A kind of spell?”

“I... Believe me, I have no clue! All I know is so absurd, you would never ever believe me one word. You would think that the lab ceiling has crashed down on my head.” I bit off another piece of meat. It was strange to say things like that, but I would get as used to it as I did to the voice, that got more and more familiar, the more I spoke. At least it started to sound like _my voice_.

Zojja giggled faintly. “Well, I already assume that. But believe me; I have seen many things in my life. I have fought dragon champions and their masters and I won! I am the greatest genius in Rata Sum. If someone is going to figure out absurd things, then it should be me, don’t you think?” She pointed her thumb proudly on her little chest.

I scratched on my back head nervously and looked around faintly in panic, to be sure that no one was listening to our conversation. “The truth is, that I’m not from here at all.”

“I already considered that, with your behavior! So there are other asura outside Tyria?”

“No, not like this. Not from this country... Not from this world.”

Confusion appeared upon Zojja’s face, and she definitely took the fallen lab ceiling into account again.

“You have to know, there is another world... Without magic and without dragons. A world full of humans. No asura, sylvari, no charr. In this world, the people know the stories of Tyria, of Destiny’s Edge, the Pact...”

Zojja shook her head. She didn’t believe me, as I could obviously read the signs of doubt inside her eyes.  
Frustrated, I took another swallow. “Look, I knew you wouldn’t believe me! Even I don’t want to believe all those things that have happened to me today.” I leaned my chin against the jug’s rim and deflated the air noisy through my nose.  
But then the expression of disbelieve vanished of Zojjas face, replaced through the natural curiosity of the asura. “Keep talking.”

Zojja waved to one of the asura and ordered two more drinks for us. It already was the fourth round, and with every swallow I felt more and more dizzy and the words flew easier from my tongue. I had told Zojja my whole story, in every smallest detail, and answered far more questions, which she couldn’t let unasked after I finished talking. I had never been a good drinker, and as the fourth jug now stood in front of my nose, I felt comfortably warm and the surrounding seemed to spin around in every direction. Zojja was running out of questions, because we had been quiet now for a while. Intensively, I stared into the reddish brewage and wondered why the jug was moving itself, though I kept my hands completely off it. Was this a kind of earthquake?

“Tell me, Zojja.. What exactly is this stuff we are drinking all the time?”

Even Zojjas grayish face had assumed a blowzy color, but she seemed to handle bigger amounts of alcohol much better than I did. At least her voice sounded steady and solid, not as mumbled as mine. “This, my dear, is Juniberry-Gin. The best gin you will find in and around Rata Sum.”

_Hah, that’s why I had recognized the fruity touch before!_

“Well, all the same it takes hold of you very fast! This, or with this body I’m just not able to hold my drinks.”

Zojja laughed. “So that is something you can fix quite easy. But I would concern about more important things for now, if I was you.”

“For example a steadily growing pressure on my bladder.” I murmured, because slowly the liquid didn’t just become noticeable inside my head. I scratched behind one of my impossibly long ears and asked, grinning: “Eh, Zojja... Where do I find... I mean... The...”

Zojja laughed out loud again. It sounded beautiful; she had a silvery laugh, which almost sounded like bells. When she was laughing, the annoying undertone she usually had while talking disappeared completely out of her voice. This _I know everything and you know nothing,_ which she used to make clear to everyone she met. Well, she was right at least in my case. But I was convinced that she had this attitude towards everyone. She used to talk in this tone even in front of her former master, Snaff.

I glanced in the direction Zojja was now pointing at, and saw a dark, nondescript door at the end of the hallway, and a green light glowing above it. _That must be it._

Careful I arose from the bench seat, trying to avoid more knee-against-table impacts. The way it felt, there was already a gigantic bruise over the whole leg, I didn’t need this a third time. But as soon as I was standing, the room started to rotate itself faster and faster, and I had to cling on the table first for a moment, so I wouldn’t fall over.

“You won’t handle a fifth round this evening, it seems.” Zojja joked and leaned back to enjoy the show. I rolled my eyes the way I was sure she would see, and groped my way carefully to the door, which seemed to be too far away by now.

_Rule number two: Don’t drink too much the first time when you don’t know what you’re drinking!_

After what seemed like ages (it must have been only a few seconds), I had arrived at the door. It was a plain wooden door, which showed already a few scratches. I supposed there were more usually troublemakers and brawls inside this tavern, darting plates and other objects.  
At the door hung a disc, showing simply the symbol of thee waves, lying on top of each other. _Simple._ The light above the doorframe still glowed green, and I took that as sign to step inside.

As I reached for the handle, I could hear the sound of water, but in that moment I was not sure if this was reality or just made of dizzy thoughts in my head. But as I opened the door and the sound grew much louder, I knew that this was one of the last signs of my soberness.  
I entered the room and closed the door behind me, there was no such thing like a key, but the light, which could be also seen on the inside, now turned from green to red.

_let’s hope that no one is so drunk that he won’t recognize the difference between green and red._

The room itself was nothing more as a small chamber without windows. The ceiling glowed in geometrical patterns and I could hear a steadily humming besides the water rushing. The rush came from a kind-of-toilet, as I could now realize, which in actual fact was more a block with a hole in the middle. Inside the hole was a channel floated by water: The source of the water rushing. I could locate neither toilet paper nor a flushing, but I also had absolutely no clue about an asuran’s toilet-peculiarities.

With trembling fingers I tinkered around on the belt, what would have been way easier in a sober condition than it was now. But after a few moments I could manage the difficulties and loosened the belt, so that I could take the pants off and take a seat on the wooden toilet. The curiosity caused me to throw a glance of what was located under the pants, and with a sigh of relieve I determined that the body structure of an asura at least had a few rudimentarily similarities to humans. At least I hoped so.

Few minutes later I left the room with a crimson head and the light above changed to green automatically. The surrounding didn’t move around me anymore, so the way back to the table was way more comfortable and less shaming. At least I now had had the chance to take a glance into toilet-peculiarities of asura.

_And next time you will be prepared for the sudden water jet coming from underneath!_

With a sigh, I squeezed on the bench back to Zojja. She chuckled and pushed my jug towards me. “This one, and then it will be time for you to rest a bit, I suppose. Don’t you think?”

I nodded and took a nip from the juniberry-gin. I had not known the taste of these berries before, but I liked them. At least the fermented version.

“Suppose we have a lot to do the next days, hm?”

“You can say that again! I have to introduce you to the arcane council members, have to explain them your situation without sounding like a maniac, I have to get you an accommodation and work...” Zojja didn’t sound concerned or stressed about this vision at all, she even seemed to be amused about it.

Suddenly a question popped up in my head. I frowned and stared at Zojja. “Why do you have such an interest in me at all? You don’t have any responsibility for me. Shouldn’t it be all the same to you what I will do and how I will cope with all that?”

Zojja seemed truly surprised of my question and took a moment to think about, how she would phrase her answer best. “Well, Szallejh... It doesn’t happen every day that an asura falls down from the sky. You appear to be a very interesting person. And, to be honest, I want to be the first person to discover whatever you are and besides... you’re likeable. I think.” The last sentence even surprised Zojja and I smiled, after I had emptied my jug.

Zojja grinned too, for a short moment, and then she cleared her throat and pulled both jugs to the end of the table. “It’s already late. I think we should go up to our rooms now.”

That was fair enough for me. I was tired, the day had been really tiring and the thought of the oncoming days didn’t make that exhaustion much better.

Zojja accompanied me to the bar, of which a small spiral staircase leaded several floors upstairs. In the third floor, Zojja lead me to a narrow hallway with some doors on both sides. She stopped in front of a door with the number “13” carved in it.

“This is your room, isn’t it? You would do well to lock the door behind you. We’ll continue talking tomorrow while breakfast.” With these words and a small wave, Zojja disappeared behind the stairs. I fumbled around in my bag to find the key and then locked the door, as Zojja had advised me. Inside it was dark, and I could only figure out shadows of furniture, but I was too tired to search for a light source. I urgently threw my back pack in one corner and launched myself on what looked like a hammock in the dark. The material was comfortably soft and eased a bit under my weight, though the hammock had a slightly musty smell. At the footboard laid a neatly folded blanket, which I now spread out over me. It was light, but it kept warm enough. And I barely had ensconced myself as I already felt asleep and dreamt of the crazy light tunnel, but without all the pain and other vexations.

The next morning I felt as if I had died a thousand deaths. The bright daylight, coming out of a three-cornered window next to my hammock, woke me up. Though there were red carpets on both sides of the window, I hadn’t thought about closing them the last evening. The light burned in my eyes as soon as I opened them, and as I stretched myself carefully, every muscle inside my body ached like I had a severe stiffness. Besides, my head throbbed so hard that it seemed to explode every moment now. I couldn’t put my finger on it if it was because of the travel or of the alcohol, but both together really had no good impact on me.

The photosensitivity and the pain cooled down a bit after I had laid awake a few minutes. At last I kicked the blanket to one end of the hammock, which was yellow-blue squared as I could see now, and swung my feet over the rim of the hammock. The bottom was cold, but that didn’t really upset me. Only now I realized that I was wearing my whole outfit from yesterday, which was totally crumbled now after the night and didn’t smell that good either. Distracted, my hand stroke over my face. _What would I give for a nice warm shower!_

Still sitting on the hammock, I inspected the room. It really was furnished with only the bare necessities: The hammock _(by the way floating, how genius was that!) was_ located near one of the smaller walls, the wall on the left decorated only the window and on the right was only the door, still holding the key in its lock. _Calming_. In front of the opposing wall stood just a small bureau, with a bowl and a pile of cloths on it.

The bowl looked promising; though it was not a nice warm shower, at least it was something to clean myself.  
Ignoring the pain, I took off my shirt and squeaked startled. I had never seen an asura naked before, and somehow I didn’t figure that female asura wouldn’t have breasts. Not even beginnings of nipples. Therefore a bellybutton and.... well.  
Otherwise the leathery skin fascinated me, so much harder and stringily then I was used to of human skin. My dark complexion was streaked with light grey spots in every size and form. What would I have given for a fullbody mirror in this situation.

After I had completely taken off my clothes, I stepped towards the bureau and stared inside the bowl, which was filled with blue glimmering water. Didn’t look that healthy after all, but it couldn’t be that bad, otherwise they wouldn’t give you something like that in public taverns.  
I grasped one of the cloths and dipped it in the bowl. Nothing special until here, no deadly acid, eroding my skin, no tingling that would promise evil. Au contraire, it felt like boringly normal warm water. _Why is the water warm?_

I washed myself with the cloth from top to bottom, whereby the water left a feeling of cleanliness and warmth on my skin. Okay, this was pretty nearly as good as a warm shower. After that, I dried myself and unknotted my hair with my fingers, after I had sat down on the hammock again. My hair was fire red, slightly curled and reached to my hips. _Not bad._

Now that I felt much better, I slipped back into my old clothes. That dulled my feeling of cleanliness a bit, but did I have another choice? If I would get an accommodation, the first thing I would do was to look for a proper selection of clothes.  
Swiftly I knotted my hair into a bun, glad that they would stay in this position without hair clips or stuff like that. However I realized that this room had no second door with the symbol of a wave on it. _Damn it._ And yet I had never been a friend of public toilets.

I shouldered my back pack with a sigh, locked the door behind me and walked along the hallway, searching for a door with green light. This appeared to be at the very end of the hallway, and finally after a few minutes, I bimbled down the stairs towards the bar.

Zojja was already waiting for me, one elbow braced on the wood of the bar and talking to the bar tender. As she saw me, she ended the conversation and came to me, smiling.  
“Ah, good morning! You are not really an early bird, are you?”

I shrugged and dropped the room key wordlessly. “Didn’t have an easy day yesterday, as you perhaps can imagine.”

Zojja laughed her beautiful laugh again. “I like your humor, Szallejh. Come on, it’s senseless to start the day without breakfast. After all, it’s the most important meal of the day!”

Now it was my turn to laugh, and I followed Zojja to one of the tables, on whom I could already see two plates and two mugs. The plates were filled with egg, a few steaming slices of bread and something that looked like cooked beans, and the mugs steamed tempting, most likely with tea. We had breakfast as if we had all the time in the world, and eventually I asked Zojja about our plans for today.

“First of all, we have to travel to Rata Sum and request an audience by the arcane council. But that shouldn’t be this difficult, after all I’m quite a genius and I know the right people. Then you need an accommodation. This will be the easiest of all, because the colleges’ dorms have always a few rooms to spare, even for not-students. More difficult it will be to find you work. At least you will have to fund several things on your own.”

I sipped carefully on the mug, avoiding to scald my tongue. _Yep, definitely tea._

“And what opportunities do I have? There has to be some dirty work that is not already done by golems.”

Zojja nodded. “There is. I doubt we will find a krewe that takes you, therefore you lack in technical knowledge. But some taverns always seek people for drink selling. Granted, it’s not the best way to make money, but it will do for the start.”

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s go.”

On the streets of Soren Draa was already a noisy hustle and bustle. I really had slept much longer then I usually intended to, because judging from the sun, it was nearly midday. We were greeted at every corner; at least Zojja was a huge celebrity for asuran standards.

We had to ascend several stairs until we finally stood in front of the portal that would lead us to Rata Sum. As I saw the swirling blue mass in front of me, which I had to go through soon, I started to feel a bit queasy. I thought back to my fears, that portal travelling would feel very similar to what I felt on my travel to Tyria. But I swallowed this fear down and glanced to Zojja.

She gave me a pitying look, as if she knew what was going on inside of me. She nodded to me encouraging. “Ready?”

I nodded. “Ready.”

Together we stepped through the portal, and it felt as if I was wrapped inside a cold blanket. Suddenly all noises became silent, and I felt a soft pressure from all around me. But that feeling lasted only for the blink of an eye, and instantly the cold blanket was replaced by the hot jungle air of Rata Sum. I took a deep breath. _That’s it already?  
_Okay, it seemed I could get used to portal travelling.

I opened my eyes carefully and stepped down the portal platform. I recognized the three-cornered cove, where on three portals led to different regions of Tyria, and swallowed, as I looked down the platform. It was no secret that Rata Sum was a floating cube above the province Metrica, but now standing on top of it, without any kind of protection and so high, that you couldn’t see the ground... That was kind of disturbing.

Zojja cleared her throat to get my attention. “So, here we are. Welcome to Rata Sum, the main city of the asura!” With a widespread gesture, she pointed to the city spreading in front of me. We ascended a few stairs and went to the midst of the main place, from which stairs led to deeper levels of the city, to a motley crew of laboratories, colleges and shops inside the cube.

I had difficulties not to lose sight of Zojja, even as I scurried right behind her. The ways were crowded with asura of most various appearances, there were giants, nearly as high as a human juvenile, and progenies, that were only as high as my own bellybutton. Tailors and Vendors screamed out most different merchandise and hooded figures most likely dealt their illegal stuff, in the middle of a public place.  
The air stirred with a mixture out of voices, murmurs, screams, laughs, metallic steps of golems and occasionally explosions from labs underneath that shook the earth. The tension in this city was little short of catchable, everyone seemed to be in a hurry and quite often verbal duels started, mostly because of concept thievery and who would be the bigger genius.

Head shaking, I passed all these figures and wondered if it would be like this at every time of day. I would figure that out soon - and much more.

Zojja had stopped walking, and I almost ran round her, as distracted as I was. We stood under a big floating cube, in which the arcane council had its seat as far as I knew.

“We are there.” Said Zojja and spoke to one of the nondescript, but without a doubt high-placed asura, who retreated after a short discussion and activated a few buttons on his control desk.

Zojja gave me a soft grin. “Step number one was easier then I had thought. They are going to teleport us up.” Her glance went upwards a brief moment, where a blue circle had appeared, which now hummed louder and louder. Then she grinned at me, again. “That might feel a little bit strange now.”

And a blue energy beam swooped towards us and enshrouded Zojja and me.


	4. Phlunted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Zojja…” I whispered, “what exactly have you planned for us? Do we have a plan at all?”

“Is everything okay with you? “

I could sense Zojja's hand grabbing onto my shoulder, while I tried to gather my thoughts. My mind had gone a bit dizzy through the teleporting; the feeling reminding me of the fast accelerating from a roller coaster. Except that it went straight upwards instead.

“Yes... yes, I’m fine. I would say that it was just... a bit strange.”

“Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you", Zojja said with a grin.

As my condition slowly returned back to normal, I looked around. We were in the Arcane Council, a fact that I already knew.

It was a sort of circular room, which was surrounded by golems on every side. Peacemaker golems, I assumed. In the midst of the room stood - or better floated - seven seats made of stone that I thought didn’t look comfortable at all. It wasn’t surprising to see that no one was sitting on a single one of them. All of the Asura that were present in this room were standing together in small groups near the chairs. If not that, then they seemed to be absorbed in some kind of document. Until now, no one had seemed to recognize our arrival.

Above the middle ring, was a floating hexagonal object which had a bright light emitting from its center. I assumed its purpose was to illuminate the Council, but I wasn't entirely certain.

Zojja stepped forward into the council, and I followed her like a dog to their master. I was nervous, because I had no clue what she was planning. I knew she wouldn’t just tell the council my true story; otherwise they would put me straight inside an asuran madhouse. But if she lied too much, they wouldn’t believe her either.

“Zojja…” I whispered. “What exactly have you planned for us? Do we have a plan at all?”

“Szallejh. I am simply THE genius! I would hardly drag you along to the Arcane Council if there was no such thing as a plan, now would I?”

“Let’s hope for that. What exactly are you going to tell them then?”

“That's simple. We...”

At that moment we were spotted by one of the council members, who approached us with arms wide open. “Aaah, Golemancer Zojja! What a pleasure to see you!”

The Asura was surprisingly ugly. His skin was of a light-grey mottled-looking color, its tone indicating a lack of healthy regime. Its texture was wizened with cracks and canyons stretched across his face. His loose-hanging ears were ripped on their edges, and the eyes looked cold and somehow even evil.

I definitely didn’t like this guy.

“Council Member Phlunt! The pleasure is all mine", Zojja purred with a voice sweet as sugar, but everyone could hear that her words were not meant to be honest at all. And it was obvious she wanted Phlunt to hear that too. I intended to ask her later what had once happened between those two.

Phlunt turned to me and raised his eyebrows. “And who is... this?”

“This is my niece, Szallejh. She grew up outside Rata Sum, but more exactly, out in the Shiverpeaks with someone I know very well. But because she couldn’t stand the snow anymore, she came to visit us in the jungle instead. And so, we are here now because Szallejh would like to receive citizenship within Rata Sum - to live and work here."

_Hmm. Okay, That seems to sound credible. At least I hope so._

“Weeeell, _Szallejh_ ", Phlunt began.

I absolutely didn’t like the way he pronounced my name. But at least no one had thrown me out of the Arcane Council room, which meant there was still hope left. It also meant Zojja had clearly thought about her plan quite efficiently.

He continued. “What are your strengths so far? Which college do you belong to? Statics, Dynamics, or Synergetics?”

I struggled on his question. I didn’t know anything about one of these three colleges. I just readied myself to babble some kind of stupid answer, but then another Asura approached us.

“My ears, Zojja! Professor Canni just informed me that you have requested an audience in the Arcane Council.”

Zojjas face brightened again a bit more. “My dear, that’s High Councilor Flax, the leader of the Arcane Council. He will hear our case soon and decide over your fate.”

Same as Phlunt, it was evident that Flax had already seen many years. His skin was darker in color, but it looked far more healthier compared to the specimen that was Phlunt. A full head of brown hair adorned the top of his head. On his forehead, was a blue powerstone which I assumed could be used to take over at least one or even all of the surrounding Peacemaker golems.

Zojja motioned an arm towards me. “High Councilor Flax, this is my niece Szallejh. We’re here today because of her.”

“Well then, let’s start with the audience!” Flax clapped his hands once, and almost immediately a few other Asura of both genders came together and took seats on the uncomfortably looking chairs.

Zojja and I were instructed to take place in the middle, so we could stand with our faces towards Flax.

_And with our backs towards Phlunt, which I don’t like at all._

“You better leave the talking to me", Zojja whispered to me, just before High Councilor Flax rose from his seat to speak.

“Excelsior! Esteemed members of the Arcane Council, welcome with me the well-known Golemancer Zojja and her niece Szallejh", Flax began, a choir of murmured ' _excelsior's_ ' around the room. "Well then Zojja, you have the right to claim your request.”

Zojja spun the same confident tale, though it was woven with far more details this time around. She illustrated me as an uneducated Asura, the made-up fact reasoned from how I had grown up with the Norn and therefore didn't have the opportunity of a higher education.

It was all so persuasive-sounding, and I would have believed her had I not been a key-piece to this plan of hers.

“And now you’re pleading the citizenship of Rata Sum", Flax stated. It was more a fact than a question, but I nodded approvingly.

High Councilor Flax rose from his seat again and threw a short glance around the circle. “The Arcane Council will have to sit upon this case. We will inform you when we’ll have come to a final conclusion.”

Zojja thanked the members and led me to the edge of the room, so we couldn’t hear them and they wouldn’t be able to hear us.

I stared at Zojja in disbelief. “When did you have time to make up such a detailed story for me!?”

Zojja giggled like a little girl. “I am a genius, did you forget about that?”

I didn’t know how to answer and just lifted an eyebrow. “What if they don’t believe us?”

“They will, for sure. Councilor Flax trusts me. It’s another thing with Phlunt entirely, but there are still the other council members. I have a quite good relation with most of them, so they will also believe me. Though my sister won’t be happy to hear that I just attached a child to her.”

“So you do have a sister?”

“In fact, I do. And I wasn’t lying when I said she lives in the Shiverpeaks. At least she did until a few years ago as I think she is stationed in the Sparkfly Fen now. Admittedly, she would never be the one to raise her child between those drunk Norn! But no one here knows about that, right?”

“Zojja, you are an absolute genius. I owe you so much for that.”

She stopped me with the wave of her hand. “Well, I think it will be enough if you just visit Narru in due-time and inform her that her beloved sister has attached a child to her!”

It was refreshing to see how much fun Zojja seemed to have by enjoying her made-up story to the fullest. Nevertheless, some very loud bells began to ring inside my head as I heard the name.

_Sparkfly Fen..._

“Wait a second, Zojja! Narru is your sister? Warmaster Narru!?” I asked.

A mischievous grin was the only answer. Zojja was just about to say something when a young looking Asura with two dark stiff braids stepped towards us. She was fully clothed in brown and orange colors, and appeared to look quite friendly.

She spoke directly to Zojja. “The council has come to a decision. High Councilor Flax requests you to step back to the circle to receive the judgment.”

Zojja bowed slightly. “I thank you, Councilor Zudo. Let’s go.”

We started moving, but quickly fell behind Zudo a few steps. I stared at Zojja, still in disbelief about the sister conversation and whispered. “But you two have no similarities at all!”

Shrugging, she answered. “Wherever you know Narru from. Only because she has some hair upon her head and I have not, you don’t have to judge that hard.”

I laughed so loudly over her comment that Zudo turned around, her face looking a bit startled as to what had caused the sudden laughter. Zojja elbowed me hard in ribs, indicating me to cease my fit of giggles. But the quick glance she shot over definitely confirmed that she found our little conversation just as funny as I did.

I had met Narru many times in-game before, as she was the one leading the fight against Tequatl the Sunless. I had always admired her character, and I was becoming incredibly excited about meeting her in a more personal and up-close sort of manner.

But Narru as Zojjas sister... _And if they believe Zojja's spun tale, then that also means she'll be my mother!_

While trying to avoid another round of laughter, a strange squeak left my mouth. Luckily, it seemed no one had noticed it.

_Hey, so I guess Zojja is my aunt now! How fast the time can go._

The council had already taken their appointed seats and Zudo led us towards the middle so we were facing Flax once again. Phlunt stared at us with his evil-looking eyes, and this time I felt even more uneasy knowing he was at my back and out of sight. It was a bad feeling and it seemed as though I could feel it deep within my bones. The image of his cold claws reaching for my neck to strangle me in a deceitful manner.

“Golemancer Zojja and her niece, Szallejh", Flax began, rising from his seat made of stone while nodding to us both in acknowledgement. “The council has come to a decision.”

An unpleasant silence spread throughout the room. Zojja stood there without any movement, and I wasn’t able to read any emotion displayed on her face. I questioned how she was able to remain so calm, since I was clearly the opposite. More than anything I wanted to grab her hand for comfort, as my heart was pounding erratically fast inside of my chest.

There was so much at stake depending on this decision!

“As you know, we all are great believers in both you and your work. You have always been a good apprentice to Snaff, and have honored his remembrance more than anybody else. This evidence is furthered along by The Snaff Price you invented. You have made the lives of Asura that much easier with your plentiful inventions. Even now, you are on the verge of facing more Elder Dragons after the recent defeat of Zhaitan.

He continued with a respectful nod. "The council would be honored to get in touch with one of your family members, and we would happily accede to your request.”

It couldn’t have worked better! Those spoken words eased my heart, and I saw that even Zojja exhaled with relief.

That was until I heard Phlunt clearing his throat behind me. I swore to myself that I was able to feel his nasty breath on my skin.

High Councilor Flax scratched behind his ear in a nervous gesture.

My heart, which had been light as a feather just a few heartbeats ago, had now taken a nose-dive to the ground. _Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no!_

“But Councilor Phlunt has made his reservations. He wants to err on the side of caution, because currently there are enough contretemps with Inquest spies. He wishes to bring about another audience, which would include you and your sister.”

My small bubble of hope burst into thousands of tiny pieces. _They didn’t believe us_.

Or at least The Council believed us, but not Phlunt. And unfortunately he had been able to convince the others not to fully trust Zojja and myself.

I looked over at Zojja to see her reaction to all of this. It was evident that her whole body was under immense tension, but that was the only physical cue she showed. Her inner tempestuousness and rage against The Council remained unseen.

With caution I threw a quick glance over my shoulder, my eyes catching how Phlunt was looking at the both of us with the most dirty insidious grin I had ever seen.

Shifting my gaze elsewhere, I peered down at the stony floor beneath my feet. I didn't want to show my disappointment and indignation to the people around us. My hands were shaking, and all the blood was rushing to my head.

_How could someone ever possibly trust this story? What should I do now?_

I had been thinking about a possible 'Plan B', when I heard Flax’s calming voice again and I lifted my head.

“Therefore, we decided to grant your niece a temporary permit of residence inside the city of Rata Sum. At least until all of the formalities with you and your sister are done", Flax began.

"Szallejh is to enjoy the privileges of a citizen within our city until the last day of Phoenix in the year 1326 NE concludes. Until then, we should be able to solve every open question concerning her citizenship. We’ll warrant her an accommodation in the sleeping dorms of the College of Synergetics, as this is the college of choice by her aunt. By accepting the permit of residence, she is obliged to appear in the Arcane Council whenever the notion is requested. And as long as she is no full-fledged member of Rata Sum, Zojja will vouch for everything Szallejh does.”

There was still a chance for me!

I didn’t know much about the asuran time reckoning, but I figured it would be enough time for me to reconsider my plans. It wasn't exactly what we were hoping for, but at least it was a start.

Zojja and I grinned to each other for our small win, and she squeezed my shoulder for a short but incredibly precious moment.

“Here is your temporary badge", Flax motioned, handing me an oval-shaped item that glimmered in gold and was similar to a police badge. It was fairly plain, with just a few numbers and a button in the middle that was likely to reveal more details through a hologram.

He continued. “You’ll need that to get through all of the Asura-portals and be able to identify yourself whenever needed. Try not to lose it.”

I nodded thankfully.

High Councilor Flax adjourned the meeting and formally dismissed us. Zojja took a quick bow, and I tried to do the same. Then Professor Canni led us back towards the teleporter, where she made her farewells far less formal. She gave a long hug to Zojja before bidding goodbye.

Once we were back to just the two of us again, I couldn't help myself and I enfolded Zojja into my arms. She was surprised at first with the sudden action, but she didn't try to push me off.

“Thanks", I murmured into her armor. "Thank you so much... Aunty.”

“Hey, nothing to thank me for. But I wouldn’t be too happy if I were you considering you were portrayed as the dumb Asura raised by Norn", Zojja replied with a grin. She waved to the Asura next to us who was responsible for the teleporter controls.

“But what if they talk to Narru about this before we can reach her?” I asked. The doubts had been growing in my head after Flax had spoken about the urgency to clarify this issue with Narru herself. I was sure that Phlunt would use every little chance to get in our way.

Zojja merely shrugged. “They won’t. There are very few Asura who know that Narru is my sister. We don’t have the best... relationship, if you understand what I’m saying.”

“And why are you so sure then that she will play this game with us?”

“She is my sister, after all. And I'm not forgetting that she still owes me a really big favor! So don’t let it trouble you too much. This issue will be long resolved before the Arcane Council even knows who my sister is.”

“Well then. Another question... High Councilor Flax said that I would have time until the end of Phoenix. How... how long is that?”

Zojja appeared confused for a short moment, but then she seemed to have remembered that I didn't originate from Tyria. Therefore I had no clue how the local calendar worked, let alone knew what day it actually was.

“Ah, well you see. Today is the 36. day of the Phoenix, and that means that you have 55 days left to get citizenship of Rata Sum.”

_Nearly two months... That should be enough to at least build the foundations._

Furthermore, Flax had mentioned the year of 1326 and the fight against the Elder Dragon Zhaitan. Which meant that the events in Tyria overlapped broadly with the events in-game. The Pact had just formed its big alliance to kill the first Elder Dragon.

I was just at the beginning of it all.

_And you know about certain things which you should definitely keep as a secret. If the events here really happen as they do in the game, then you are bound to meet people whose fates are already sealed because of the fight against the dragons..._

I didn’t like this thought at all. But maybe there were a few things happening otherwise here... Maybe it would be possible to save at least a few lives...

“Well, well! Look who has a Norn living in his capital city now", Phlunt's cynical-sounding voice came from behind me. It made me wince enough that I nearly dropped the new badge I had received. To be on the safe side, I put the thing inside one of my pockets.

“Obviously no Norn, but an Asura", I answered as calmly as possible, trying not to show how much this man sickened me.

“Obviously an Asura with a Norn’s brain instead. What else could be expected from an Asura who has lived with those drunkards most of her life?” he retorted with a sneer. "You haven't even graduated from one of the colleges! I suppose you wouldn't even know how a proper monolithic integrated circuit works. You have no business of being here, Skritt-brain.”

_Wasn’t I a Norn-brain just seconds ago?_

“You have lost, Phlunt. We got everything we wanted today", Zojja now intervened. “And at least Szallejh knows how not to evoke hostility in the whole world within the blink of an eye. You should learn a thing or two from her.”

“Pah, as if I would care. I will get you soon, Zojja. And your dense niece too. You will see us again, that I promise", Phlunt concluded, turned back around to disappear into one of the side doors without saying another word.

Canni, who had watched the whole scene from afar, just shook her head in disbelief and shrugged her shoulders.

Zojja laughed out bitterly and said, with her hands in her hips. “Congratulations, my dear. You’ve just got phlunted!”

“Hmpf. And it sounds as awkward as it feels", I replied.

An extremely tall Asura joined us and exchanged a few words with Zojja. He activated some buttons for the teleporter, causing a bar on the display to fill itself with a green color while building up an energy field around us.

Zojja threw a questioning look towards me, whereupon I just nodded in affirmation and readied myself to get teleported back down to the city center.

Midday had just passed when we re-emerged on the main platform of Rata Sum. The sky was still shining in its brightest color of blue, and the jungle air had reached its highest peak of temperature. I wasn’t quite sure that I would ever get used to this heat, but that played into my hands well enough with the credibility about my fabricated Shiverpeak childhood.

“And what do we do now?” I asked to Zojja.

“Well, I suggest we will need to split up for this next step. I will go talk to the dorm leader of the College of Synergetics and provide you a residence for the next few weeks", she explained. "In the meantime, you should work on getting yourself an ample supply of clothes and whatever else you'll also need for living."

She looked me up and down while screwing up her nose, almost as though she wanted to say that my clothes were not the most tidy and well-scented anymore. “How much gold do you have?”

I fumbled around in my moneybag and showed the contents to Zojja. She inhaled in surprise and stared at the coins with big eyes. “My ears! Where in the Eternal Alchemy did you get so much gold?”

Shrugging, I just murmured, “Seems like someone wanted me to have a good start.”

I looked at my nearly overflowing backpack with a skeptic brow. “How will I be able to carry all the things that I buy though? Just the clothes alone are going to fill up space, if there's even any room left!"

Zojja only needed a few seconds to think about this conundrum. "You have more than enough money to afford an upgrade for your bag", she explained while grabbing my arm and leading me towards a merchant that sold not only weapons and armor pieces, but also a vast assortment of runes. "Just give me one gold coin."

“But that's so much!?”

“It won’t hurt you. And if we're going to be upgrading your backpack, then we’ll do it the right way, won’t we?”

I remained silent and gave my backpack to Zojja. While she was discussing the details with the merchant and keeping an eye on his work, I looked around at the nearby scene of the market. Next to the merchant was a booth that sold clothes and shoes with a big mirror at the front of the shop.

 _The perfect opportunity for me to have a real look at myself_.

The person that awaited me on the reflective surface appeared familiar, but it was also a complete stranger looking back.

The gray spots on my skin weren't just located on my arms, but they were spread out across my face as well. My lips were full, and behind them were two rows of neat and very sharp-looking teeth whenever I smiled. The almond shaped eyes above were an intense green color, and they reminded me of the nearby jungle foliage.

My red hair was in a bit of a chaotic knot, but that was something that could be remedied well-enough with a good comb.

And my ears, they were absolutely tremendous! They hung down at shoulder-length, and when concentrated, I found that I was able to let the tips wiggle to and fro.

All in all, what I saw was quite passable!

I had turned around a few times to examine myself in front of the mirror when Zojja suddenly appeared behind me and cleared her throat. “Your backpack", she announced, passing the brown bag to me. With a curious glance I looked inside, immediately noticing that the space inside had increased tenfold.

_Okay, I love magic. Absolutely!_

“Hey, it is bigger on the inside!” I said, giggling because of the suggestion that no one else in Tyria would ever understand. At least now it would be big enough to store a few proper clothes and shoes.

_I wonder if the weight will still be that light with all the stuff in it?_

I strapped my rucksack on and discussed with Zojja that we would meet right here again, once we had both finished our tasks. After that, I decided I would need to arrange some time for myself to take a proper shower before I could start looking for a job. It wouldn't be until the next day when Zojja wanted me to travel with her to Sparkfly Fen, the location where we would talk with her sister.

“All right then, Szallejh. Take care of yourself and don’t let the merchants squeeze too much money out of you!” Zojja waved goodbye. She disappeared on one of the ramps that led to the inside of the cube.

I took a deep breath.

First things first, I needed some clothes. Conveniently enough, the perfect booth was already right beside me.

For a while, I spent the time digging through the most diverse offerings until deciding on a few of them. I picked up some elaborately decorated black, brown and grey colored pants as well as a handful of colorful shirts that could be tied up around the neckline. Much like the pants, the shirts were beautifully crafted and were laced at the sleeves. To this, I added two vests that were both in a neutral blue-grey color and had some bags attached to their sides.

Besides the pair of shoes I was already currently wearing, I had only bought one more pair but I picked one that also covered the toes. You never knew when you would need something like that.

Atop everything else already picked out, I also added some underwear along with bands and clips for my hair.

My purchasing craze had created a few frowns scattered here and there, but I didn't really care. After all, I knew I needed all of this and besides, no one should try to get in my way as long as I was able to pay for it.

I paid the necessary coins for my items, amazed that even after all the amount I had paid for, it was still cheaper than one single gold coin. I stuffed all my new purchases except the hair bands and clips into my small backpack, which seemed to absorb everything like some kind of black hole. To my relief, the backpack hadn't seemed to change in weight when I shouldered it back on.

_Did I mention before that I loved magic?_

Once again, I placed myself in front of the nearby mirror and unraveled the knot that had been keeping my hair up. Its red strands cascading down, the length reaching down to my hips. I hear an Asura whistling behind me, which actually made me smile.

With the help of the bands, I bundled together the greater part of my hair into a long braid. I skipped two of the smaller strands on each side of my head, and instead attached them with one clip each. This way my hairstyle looked far better than the previously strange knot, as the thing had been on the brink to unloosen itself anyway.

I walked about the market place for a while, buying some peanuts that weren’t indispensable, but I still wanted to own them. The sun was already low when I decided to finish my shopping and return to the weapon merchant where we were supposed to meet.

Zojja was already there, and was making conversation with a group of Asura who were wearing the symbol of the College of Synergetics. Most likely they were students asking Zojja for a device of something.

She closed the conversation when she saw me approach, and the Asura disappeared into the nearby crowd while still discussing their issue.

“So, did you get everything you needed?” she asked.

“I think so. And if not, I figured the market place isn't that hard place to find so I can come back whenever I want. How did you do?"

“I was able to negotiate a little. You’ll get your room; the only thing I have to do is just give a few symposia concerning the ramifications of bloodstone magic to its environment. It could be worse, if you ask me.”

“Zojja, you’re a genius!”

“That’s what I already said, didn’t I?”

Our conversation continued along that way for a bit, while Zojja led me down some ramps. Though there was no daylight here, the gleaming energy fields everywhere that were fed by arcane energy lighting our way.

While we descended lower and lower, it appeared the hustle down here was still able to keep up with the one just above on the surface. The difference down here though, was that rather than noisy merchants yelling about their wares, there were various lab workers. In nearly every direction you could hear the sound of screaming, swearing, clanking and rattling.

Students either sat or stood around in small groups, and they conferred with each other about ongoing tests. On every corner, you could hear asura giving the most diverse-sounding lectures. Golems buzzed around the passageways, delivering packages or urgent messages from lab to lab. Children ran around our feet, playing tag or trying to fool the Peacemaker golems.

“It's certainly lively down here,” I said, mentioning towards the shocking level of sound down here.

“Get used to it, it doesn’t look or sound much better at night", Zojja explained. "You'll hear that racket even inside your room. It's the reason why you're only seeing laboratories around and not living spaces. Nobody would want to live inside this chaos, except for the students that don't have enough coin for a proper flat or want a shorter route to their college of choice."

“Well, that sounds promising.”

There was one last ramp that led down, and it seemed now that we had finally reached the lowermost level of the city. From what I could see at least, there didn't seem to be any more ramps leading down. Even the light from the energy fields seemed to have dimmed a bit with the depth.

We stopped in front of a big stony gate and were greeted by the gatekeeper. They appeared to be quite a good looking Asura, even with the scaringly tattered ears.

“Excelsior!" they greeted. "I suppose you must be Zojja's niece?"

I nodded.

“My name is Klakk. I'm responsible for the dorms of the College of Synergetics. Follow me", he said with a nod of his head.

He continued. "You are lucky, as one of the newly refurbished rooms just became available. Another Asura that graduated early within just thirteen years...", he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "These progenies nowadays..."

“Saved by the bell", Zojja whispered. “Many students propel supreme dubious experiments in their rooms, which is why some of them had to get refurbished not too long ago. You could have just as well landed in one of these acid-corroded, chaos monster infested rooms.”

Klakk led us to a door located fairly close to the gate and indicated for me to step inside. The door hadn't been locked; which hopefully meant there was a misplaced key somewhere awaiting a new owner.

The room was about exactly as I had expected. It was windowless, with energy fields above my head that filled the space with the steady buzzing sound of the ventilation system. For asuran standards, it contained everything substantial: a floating fair-sized hammock, a bedside cabinet, a wardrobe and a desk.

“You’ll find the cleansing rooms at the end of the hallway on the left, and the cooking premises on the right. Please try not to leave too much work for our cleansing golems.", he said with finality, thrusting a key into my hand. He said his goodbyes and left.

“A real student digs, eh?” I joked.

Zojja laughed. “It will do for the start. Wait a while, maybe you’ll get hired by a krewe someday and earn enough money to buy your own apartment. At least you'll be spared the common rooms then.”

“I suppose I've got bigger problems right now than a common shower", I laughed. I threw my rucksack onto the hammock, pleased to see the bedding was already equipped with pillows and blankets because I hadn't been thinking about those items while shopping.

I pulled some of the other contents out of the bag, grabbing the clothes I wanted to wear after taking a shower. The rest of the outfits were neatly arranged inside the wardrobe, which unfortunately was just as big on the inside as it looked on the outside.

“Very well... you received your temporary permit of residence, a room, and something acceptable to put on. Now refresh yourself and keep your ears open for someone who maybe has got some work for you", Zojja explained.

“And what about you?” I asked.

“I have other things to do, but don’t worry. I will catch up with you right here tomorrow morning. And then we'll be off to give my sister the pleasure of a surprise visit! But before that, I have to ensure that those blockheads don’t try and blow up my laboratory again."

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose at a recent memory. "You'd think they could manage on their own when you leave for just half a day...”

With the bundle of fresh, new clothes under my arms, I made headway to the cleansing rooms. I was unsure of what awaited me there, but the excitement to finally get clean far outweighed the worry. On my way there I encountered many Asura of different ages, most of them seeming to be younger than me, though few hardly paid me any mind.

The hallway was quite long and I counted around fifty doors on each side, which occasionally led into smaller corridors leading elsewhere.

_I wonder how many students will live here?_

At the end of the corridor, the path parted left and right; I chose the left one. Once through, I had the choice between choosing three doors: One door with the wave symbol which I had previously identified as a toilet symbol back at the tavern in Soren Draa. Another door had a cloud symbol, and the last one was etched with a symbol of water drops. The latter choice seemed the most promising for me, and since I couldn’t make out symbols for gender segregation, I opened the door.

A hot cloud of steam greeted me and disguised my view for a moment, the whole room seeming to gleam in an unnatural blue color. Against the wall stood several tubes that were faintly reminiscent of shower cabins. Some of them stood open, and I could make out the silhouettes of Asura in the others.

Suddenly one of the cabin doors opened, and a completely naked Asura stepped out. He didn't seem too concern with the fact that everyone could currently see every centimeter of his body. As cool as a cucumber, he went to a pile of clothes that were lying out upon a bench beside the wall.

I forced myself not to stare too blatantly, and likewise searched for an open place on the bench. Once I was far away as possible from the male Asura, I put the new clothes down and began to undress myself.

In the corner of my eye I saw another female Asura that threw a bundle of cloth into a small cabinet, which started to buzz and then showed a countdown on its display. I suppose it was some kind of washing machine, an utility which was exactly what I needed right now.

I felt kind of uncomfortable running around in this room completely naked even while others could look at me. But no one else seemed to be offended. Apparently Asura had no such distinctive sense of shame like humans did.

I threw my old clothes into one of the cabinets beside me and pressed the green buttons. Immediately, the machine was recalled to life and green letters counted down from 100.

Though I didn’t wait for it to be done, I turned to one of the placards on the wall which read: “Rules for using the PeDACUR - cleansing capsules.” Underneath the text, it explained short and simple directions of how to start the _Personal Decontamination And Cleansing Utility Room_ cleansing process. It stated that neither acid, nor some kind of waste was to be used inside the PeDACUR.

I really had no intention of destroying something, as I just wanted to feel clean again.

Carefully, I stepped inside a free capsule and the door automatically closed with a hiss. All around me was white milky-looking glass, so I couldn’t look outside. The flooring surface was rough to avoid the danger of slipping. Although the capsule was not wet or rudimentally dampish, it made me wonder.

Shrugging the thought away, I activated the button that I assumed would start the process, and immediately I was doused by a stream of warm water. I was amazed that the water had just the right temperature for me: not too cold and not too hot. With relish, I straightened myself up under the stream, kneaded my hair a bit and sighed with relief.

This was exactly what I needed right now.

The water was glowing in the unnatural blue coloration that I had recognized from the washing bowl back in the tavern. I decided I would need to confront Zojja the next day and ask her what exactly this stuff was. But it didn’t seem to be bad, if anything.

Way too fast, the stream suddenly stopped and a buzz filled the cabin. That was the second step: Decontamination and cleansing via low-leveled arcane energy. This removed whatever remnants of dirt lingered behind after the stream, and at the same time it also dried my skin and the surrounding cabin. My body felt warm to the core, even though the energy wasn’t enough to completely dry my hair.

Eventually the buzzing noise faded away and the door opened with a faint hissing sound.

Feeling incredibly happy, I stepped out of the cabin and ran my fingers through my still damp hair before grabbing one of the towels that was placed upon one of the nearby shelves. I used it to dry the last locations that the PeDACUR hadn’t reached.

Once I was content I threw the towel into one dedicated baskets, or at least I supposed that was its purpose as it already had some used towels inside. Then I slipped into my new clothes which luckily hadn't stolen by someone in the meantime. I did my hair just as I had done before and opened the cabinet that had been holding my old clothes, the counter above having reached zero on the display. The previously dirtied clothes were now clean, dry and held a sweet aroma to their fibers.

And that was all within just a few minutes.

_Asura and their techniques... it continues to surprise me again and again._

I folded the old clothes neatly so they would not crumple again, and headed back to my room. There, I emptied out the last things that had been in my backpack and decided to arrange the room to look more personal for the next few days. It was rather bleak and spineless at the moment.

After locking my room and heading out to walk through Rata Sum some more, I realized I couldn't even remember the last time I had ever been this happy. The sun had completely disappeared, but the inside of the city's cube was still ablaze with light. Some of the labs were dark and closed by now, but most of them appeared to have late working Asura on the nightshift schedule.

Because of the late time, it meant most of the taverns and bars were now open, and many Asura swarmed to those places this evening.

While I passed the various signs, I memorized the taverns that seemed most appealing as I wanted to ask someone at those locations if they could use a helping hand.

And when I woke up the next morning, it meant that I would have a permit of residence, a room and - hopefully - a job.


	5. Cold Feet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My blood froze to ice and my limbs refused any command I gave them. Run! It screamed in my head, but I couldn’t do anything. I was like solidified.

I was rudely awakened by the sound of a loud bang.

The walls were vibrating so hard that I rolled right out of my hammock in shock. I came down less than gently onto the cold floor with a thud.

_Well, a wonderful good morning to you!_

I rubbed my head in confusion and peeled myself out of the blanket to go look after the source of the strange noise. The floor outside seemed to be in sheer pandemonium as I could hear trampling and screaming. It resonated with such a loud volume, that it sounded as though it was occurring just in front of my door.

On the fly, I slipped my shirt on over my head and opened the door.

Dark, green smoke clouds were billowing out of the door located right beside mine, and a myriad of Asura were standing around and gawking at the spectacle. Most of them were dressed at about the same level as me, since presumably they had been shaken out of their sleep just the same as I had.

I decided to consort with the Asura standing closest to me. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat, wearing nothing more than short pants which revealed a body traversed by black blotches covering his skin. His ears were sticking out on both sides, but his eyes were truly the most astonishing thing about him. One of his eyes was green, while the other one was red. Had I not seen other Asura with uncommon eye colors before, I would have thought it was quite creepy.

“What happened here?” I mumbled, watching his sneer grow even wider as I turned towards him.

His amazing-looking eyes were still attached to the smoky room. "Ah, Poll couldn't stop himself from experimenting in his room and this time, he seems to have compounded an exceedingly explosive concoction - again. Inconceivable that they still allow him to live here. This is already the third time in just one week!”

He shook his head in disbelief, then turned his eyes to me. “Excelsior. I am Kekk. You’re new here, aren’t you? Haven't seen you before. And believe me, I _would_ recognize those ears!”

I stroked one of my ears uncertainly, not quite sure if that last comment was meant as a compliment. “Eh... thanks? I suppose?”

I cleared my throat. “But yes, I just got to Rata Sum yesterday. The name's Szallejh.”

“Hah. And how did you get taken on by the Synergetics college? If you ask me, the qualifying examinations get more sophisticated each year. I mean... if I was to compare my exams against my brother’s back then. And mine was probably around five years ago! Phew, I really commiserate the next year’s students.”

I blushed, glad that Kekk's gaze went back to Poll's room. A coughing Asura came staggering out, his hair completely scorched. Amidst the coughs, he was cursing and furiously waving the smoke away.

“I, ehm... I don’t attend any of the colleges. At least... not yet. I suppose my best bet will be to earn some money in more conventional ways until I even dare to think about attending a college.”

Kekk stared at me in surprise. “Oh, is that so? Quite courageous. Very few Krewes are hiring Asura without any educational degrees.”

I just shrugged. “I will find something. Somehow.”

Poll had calmed down a little and was now reassuring all the bystanders that the eerie green smoke was not poisonous in any way.

While he was explaining himself, two Peacemakers burst into the hallway and demanded an answer for this turmoil. They calmed down the second they caught Poll across the way, as apparently it was a commonplace that the Asura was responsible for blowing something up inside the dormitory.

_Well, well, look who happens to be your new neighbor!_

One of them motioned towards the perpetrator in question. “Excelsior. Poll, you will tidy up this chaos and then follow us. Klakk has slowly been growing worried about the condition of his dorms, and he needs to have a conversation with you, urgently.

Kekk snickered. “Uh-oh, now he is going to be thrown out for sure!”

One of the Peacemakers turned around and spoke to all the spectators who had gathered. “Nothing to see here. Move along, folks! Go to your rooms or wherever else you want to go, but don’t obstruct the hallway any longer.”

“Pfff. Not exactly friendly for a Peacemaker”, I commented before opening the door to my room.

Kekk bid farewell with a short wave. “See ya, long-eared!” He winked at me again and disappeared in the masses.

The noise died away immediately once I let the door shut behind me. With a sigh, I lifted the blanket from the floor and folded it before putting it back on the floating hammock. After all the commotion, I was wide awake with very little doubt. I didn't even make an attempt to try and lie down again for more sleep.

I knew well enough that Zojja would soon be waiting for me outside. At least until then, I wanted to be dressed for the occasion.

In a hurry I slipped into the same clothes I had worn yesterday evening. They were neither dirty nor did they smell bad, so I would be able to wear them one more day. Combing my hair was much more of a hassle though, as the strands had tangled up into an untamable mess while I had been sleeping. I had a difficult time unraveling some of the knots, and that was only made worse by the lack of any immediate mirror in my room.

I made a mental note about adding that to my shopping list as soon as possible.

After what seemed like ages, I finally reached the point where I could put my hair up in a ponytail so loose strands were no longer bothering me all the time. I threw one last glance down to my appearance before shouldering my backpack and leaving the room..

Zojja was already waiting for me when I came back from the cleaning rooms.

“Excelsior, my dear! How has your night been?” she asked.

“Calm wouldn't quite describe it. I hope it doesn’t occur every day that some Asura is trying to blow up his room", I said.

Zojja laughed. “Concerning that, I can’t promise you anything. Are you ready? Sparkfly Fen awaits us!”

“And how exactly will we get there, if I may ask?”

The area of Sparkfly Fen wasn't located very close to Rata Sum, and I was afraid of a really long and burdensome march lying just ahead of us. From what I could remember, I couldn't recall there being portals except for the ones in Lion's Arch.

Zojja's glimpse allowed me to fear the worst.

“We will take the portal to Lion's Arch, then go by foot through Bloodtide Coast and further into Sparkfly Fen", she instructed. "Sorry about that, but I'm afraid this is the fastest way there. But with that in mind, our journey should prove rather uneventful and we should be able to arrive there by this evening.

_Great! And it was still early in the morning._

I sighed. “Well then, let’s go. That way we won’t have to spend the night in the marshes.”

I had just begun to move when my stomach started rumbling so loud that even the Asura in the nearby rooms could have heard it.

Zojja gave me a lopsided sneer with her sharp teeth. “First thing's first, we should get something for breakfast. Did you already forget about that? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!”

I followed Zojja up the ramps until we arrived on the surface of the cube. Compared to yesterday, today was utter chaos. The level of noise hardly allowed a proper conversation, and I struggled to not lose sight of Zojja within all of this mess.

She led me to a hall of the Synergetics college, the right side holding a few tables and chairs looking to be made out of stone. Many of them were already taken, but I could make out a few free seats here and there. Ahead of that stood something that looked like a kiosk, and I assumed it was where one could probably buy their breakfast.

And that was exactly where Zojja was heading.

The smell of fried bacon and eggs reached my nostrils while we waited in the queue. Now more than ever, I recognized how hungry I really was. Again.

The students in front of us were intensively chatting about the facts of synergy and how elements and energy were needed to create every single one of us. From this angle, it was that we were representing a cosmic event within an even bigger picture.

It was interesting to listen to the two, but sadly their conversation was interrupted when they both ordered their breakfast and went to one of the tables in the back shortly after.

Finally after waiting in line for what seemed like forever, it was our turn to get our meal.

The Asura in the kiosk wore a classic chef's outfit with a matching cap that looked a few sizes too big, but the outfit suited him amazingly well. He appeared to be quite young, with brown hair sticking out on every side and friendly brown eyes. His nose appeared too clunky on the scale of things.

Cheerfully he turned bacon strips on a heating plate and pushed plentiful scoops of scrambled eggs into small bowls. Once he saw us approach, his facial expression lightened up even a bit more.

“Aah, good morning, Zojja!” he exclaimed with a cheery smile.

“Excelsior, Bromm. A cook as mettlesome as ever, as I see", Zojja addressed with a simple nod.

“I can’t let the poor Synergetics students starve to death, now can I?” he joked and then took our order. Even though he had much more on offer, I eventually decided to take the scrambled eggs with bacon.

Zojja paid for our meals, and while she was gathering the right amount of coins, I couldn't help but wonder how much a genius like her would actually earn. She was the one responsible for inventing mega lasers, and they were used nearly everywhere.

And though she was oblivious, I knew well enough her weapon would be leading the Pact to its final victory over Zhaitan...

“Zojja, why don’t you introduce the beauty you have brought along with you?” Bromm suddenly asked.

I could feel the blood rushing to the tips of my ears, and I grinned hesitantly.

“This is my niece Szallejh. She’s been in Rata Sum since yesterday, so have patience with her", Zojja said, introducing me. She patted my shoulder and attempted to say more, but an Asura behind us complained about our conversation blocking the kiosk for all the other hungry students.

Bromm only shrugged in excuse and gave us a big grin while we cleared the way for the others.

We took a seat on one of the stone benches and enjoyed our breakfast, which really tasted extraordinarily good. Whoever this Bromm had been, he seemed to be the greatest cook in all of Tyria.

“There are still a few things I will have to get used to", I mumbled with a mouth full of eggs while I watched a couple of Asura discussing something so vigorous that they almost broke their skulls.

“Which would be?” Zojja countered.

Just now, the male Asura had slapped the face of his female companion, and it really must have hurt because it immediately brought tears into her eyes.

“Well, I'm going to need to get used to the exploding rooms of my neighbors", I began, still watching the fiasco from across the way. "And on the other hand, I'm noticing that Asura clearly have no sense of shame when it comes to compliments."

The Asura was apologizing extensively after raising his hand, and even from the furthered distance I could see he was doing it in a very convincing way. But the Asura next to him must have thought differently, because she bashed her empty bowl atop this head. The noise of the skull reverberating against the ceramic was nearly chilling.

Luckily Asura were strong-headed, both physically and mentally. And it seemed Bromm's eating utensils and ceramic ware were strong enough for common disputes like this.

Zojja laughed. “You’ll get used to it soon enough. To both of those things."

She looked down to her plate and stabbed her fork full of egg. "Do you know how many wedding proposals I've gotten during my lifetime? Either from Asura that were desperate to marry a prominence like myself, or acquaintances that were so addled by their latest achievement that they couldn't discern what they were asking in their euphoria."

The female Asura across the way now sprang to her feet, swore her head off for a few seconds and then ran past us to the outside. I swore I was able to make out a few more tears on her face while she ran by.

“And you denied all of them?" I asked, looking at the companion next to me.

“Pah, of course I did! Who on this planet needs...", she began but trailed off after noticing what I had been so enraptured within. "What has been catching your attention so greatly!?"

Zojja cast a short glance over her shoulder, but she had missed the spectacle. The Asura that had been left behind had sunk down on his bench and was rubbing his head. At least he would walk away with an enormous bump as a painful reminder.

“Ah, nothing. I was just watching the nearby surroundings...", I answered.

After we had finished our breakfast, Zojja brought the dishes back to the kiosk and then led me towards a very busy-looking portal, which was judged by how many other Asura were also wanting to go through.

On the way there, I told Zojja about the job offer I had received yesterday evening.

The diner imaginatively was called “Aquatarium”, which was a name given by the fact that it's seating possibilities correlated with the backdrop of it being right behind the aquarium. It had quite a good view of the underwater world. Not only that, but the kitchen area was open, which meant guests could watch the chef's preparing all of the meals.

In two weeks time, the current waitress would be going to join the Durmand Priory in the Shiverpeaks. An Asura named Elynnja, who was the diner’s owner, gladly offered me the position.

Zojja shrugged her shoulders. “Might not be the best dinner in Rata Sum, but it means money at the very least. Besides, it's impossible for you to be clumsier than their previous waitress.”

_Well, that was the encouragement I asked for._

We entered the queue in front of the portal and while we progressed inch by inch, I thought about how I would be spending the next two weeks until I started my new job.

“What is your request in Lion’s Arch?” a grumpy-looking portal guard asked me when I was the next in line.

“Just passing by, nothing else", I answered.

“So no criminal intentions, murder, sabotage, thievery?” she asked, raising a brow.

“Eeh.. I guess not.”

“Good. Your badge, please", she ordered, holding her hand out expectantly.

I gave her the badge, feeling slightly confused. She scanned it and instructed me with a nod to step through the portal. Zojja was spared formalities, as I assumed she was known well enough and didn’t need to be given instructions every single time.

_This will be the only portal on our journey. Lucky me._

We stepped through the portal and the hot jungle air was instantly replaced by the fresh, salty smell of Lion’s Arch and its surrounding sea. I needed a moment to adjust to the new circumstances before I finally looked around. We stood on a huge plaza that was lined with dozens of other portals, each of which was protected by standing guards.

I was broken from my observation when two children, a human and a Charr cub passed by with their kites. They were laughing aloud, taking advantage of the wind which wove through the streets of Lion's Arch. The two were hushed away by a fierce-looking Lionguard, but that didn’t seem to harm their good mood in any way.

“Wow! Where do all these portals lead to?” I asked Zojja, marveling at the structures while she guided me across the plaza.

“They are gateways to all of the big cities of Tyria. Hoelbrak, Divinity’s Reach, even the Durmand Priory. All important places", she exclaimed. "I would love to give you a tour around Lion’s Arch, but we don’t have the time to.

She shielded her eyes and looked to the direction of where the sun was sitting overhead. "As you already know, I would like to arrive at Narru's by this evening. You are free to book a tour on your way back, that is if you're obsessed with pirates and scofflaws..."

_At least I now know where in Lion’s Arch we currently are._

Zojja waved me through a stone-made gate and rushed through Lion’s Arch's streets, her speed making it impossible for me to throw further looks at the city.

Even if it seemed quite chaotic, I found the place to be beautiful in its very own way. The buildings were mostly of various constructs, and it was obvious that many different races had been involved in rebuilding the city.

From what I recalled, it all had started with a human named Cobiah Marriner, a Charr named Sykox, and a colorful Asura who went by the name of Macha. And with the passing years, they had joined with many others. Skritt, Hylek, humans, Norn and more. They all had immortalized their unique fingerprint within this city.

We passed various streets that were lined with towering palms. Quickly, we crossed shady-looking merchants, vigilant guards, children running amuck, and random arguing couples.

Zojja led me up a section of wide stony steps and then over a bridge, its borders cropped with buildings. We headed up to another portal-lined plaza. This one was mostly crowded with warriors, who looked armed to their teeth and obviously more than ready to lose their life in combat.

“Here are the portals to the mists", Zojja commented, and that seemed to be enough as an explanation for her. I would have asked more, but I had already run out of breath from all of our extensive walking.

But instead of crossing the plaza, Zojja led me through an unremarkable opening in the wall which allowed us to walk around. On this path, we were more directly near the sea and had an amazing view over Lion's Arch.

I really wished we could have had more time so that I could take a look to really observe everything. But as soon as I stopped for even a tiny fraction of a second, Zojja had already pulled me further along.

Enormous cannons dotted nearly every wall of Lion's Arch, which made it apparently clear that it would never be an easy city to capture. Either for undead, dragons or other unseen enemies.

In front of us now stretched a kind of a gorge, it’s soaring cliffs standing quite close to each other. It left only enough space for two, maybe three travelers side by side. I couldn’t make out the exit, but judging by the Dolyak caravans passing through the gorge, this seemed to be the way to the Bloodtide Coast.

I felt uncomfortable while we were walking beneath the cold shadow of the stones, but Zojja tried to calm me. “It’s only a short way to the other side, and because the path is leading upwards, the cliffs won’t seem that dangerous for you much longer.”

And she was right, after a few minutes we were already walking in sunshine again and I could make out water just ahead in the distance.

But it was then that I realized just how badly my feet were starting to hurt, and I couldn't imagine how Zojja was able to ever survive a journey with the pace she was making.

As we reached the exit of the gorge, Zojja headed for a small camp that was set up on the proximity of the shore. A woman in a Lionguard uniform kindly greeted Zojja and indicated for us to take a short rest. I took the offer without hesitating, and dumped down ungracefully on my backside before rubbing my hurting feet.

“Don’t worry, after breakfast this morning I was constructing an idea that will surely shorten our journey and definitely make it less uncomfortable", Zojja explained. "It's true what they say about breakfast, it increases the cogitation many times over!"

_Shorter and more comfortable? Sounded like a promising plan - most of all for my feet._

“Zojja! How are you doing?” a voice suddenly announced.

“Splendid, Tunnira", she answered with a smile. "You remember the megalaser I told you about? The prototype was more than successful, and my invention will bring us all the victory over Zhaitan!”

“I’m sure it will. But tell me, what brings you here?” she asked.

Zojja grinned mischievously and threw a short side glance at me. “My... niece and I are on our way to Sparkfly Fen. But we have to get there as fast as possible, and last time you told me about a cockleshell that you use to get to the isles...”

Tunnira burst into laughter. “I understand, and I can see it would clearly be an ease for both you and your niece. It won't be a problem then! Besides, I still owe you a favor anyway. Authen will arrive shortly to bring you to your destiny fast and safe.

While she called for a Sylvari wearing similar armor, Zojja gave her thanks to the woman and slipped her some silver coins.

The Sylvari received their new commands without complaining and led us to a tiny wooden boat that had been pulled to the shore not far from the camp.

“Good morning, ladies! It’s your lucky day, the Splintered Coast is easy to reach if you travel by water", the Sylvari said. "But it won’t be a holiday trip with our vehicle, as the waters are turbulent here and there in bad times. Not only that, but these lands are teeming with Krait.”

“We will manage with that. Let’s go, we don’t have much time", Zojja said.

Authen was absolutely right about the holiday trip. Though it would have been way more exhausting to run all the way there, it only took me a few minutes of being on the boat for me to swear that I would never travel by sea again after today. My face had turned completely green, and more than once my head disappeared behind the other side of the railing. It caused a few pitiful glances from my companions each time I ran over to expel my stomach.

_If only I had spared breakfast..._

But the real action of our journey started when we left the territories of Bloodtide Coast and emerged into the larger waters of Sparkfly Fen. Authen told us that the lake we passed was called _Ocean’s Gullet_ , and from there we would pass the Leeshore Gauntlet before finally reaching our destination at the Splintered Coast. Although the passage over the lake was essentially more calm and gave me back my normal face color, we had another much bigger problem appearing.

_Krait._

Of course we had been warned beforehand, but when the first of that beasts appeared in front of our boat, I screamed out like a little girl and tried to hide in the backmost corner of our vehicle. It didn’t help that the Krait had brought a fellow conspecific, who attacked us from behind - and their scaled slippery claws that clung round my neck were even more horrible than Phlunt's breath.

Again I screamed out and dealt out blows to all sides without control, in the hope that this would discourage the unwanted parasite. But to make matters worse, it only tightened the grip of its claws.

My only salvation left was Zojja. After she had swiftly cast a whispered spell, she threw a giant fireball at the Krait which hit him in the middle of his chest and hurled his now lifeless body back into the waves. I should have been grateful, but the fireball had also grazed my arm and I was too busy with my own roaring curses and complaining about the pain to acknowledge her help.

Meanwhile Authen had been dealing with the second Krait, which was now bleeding out from various spear wounds and had crashed onto the bottom of our boat. Authen finished him off and then heaved the heavy corpse back into the water.

He clapped his hands and brushed leaves out of his face, as though there had never been a fight just seconds ago.

I still sat in my corner, huddled and shivering while clutching onto my hurting arm.

Zojja sighed and knelt down beside me. “I’m sorry that my spell got you too. But this was the only way to quickly get that beast off you.”

"It's okay...", I mumbled with a shrug. At least I was alive and those two Krait were not, which must have been worth something.

“I never really specialized in healing, but there are still a few basic spells I can cast. I'm sure they will help your burns", Zojja tried, guilt ridden on her face.

She imposed her right hand onto my wound, ignoring my pained hiss before closing her eyes and mumbling a few words that I didn't quite understand.

With disbelief I stared as her hand began to glow in a light blue color, and it felt like water jets flowing were out of her fingers and circling around my arm. With an uneasy feeling, these water jets seemed to blaze a healing trail through my burnt flesh.

After Zojja pulled her hand back, I was left with only a reddened circle. It reminded me more of a bad sunburn than an actual burn.

“Wow! How did you...?” I asked, bewilderment on my face.

“Elementalists, my dear. I may not be specialized on water magic, but every elementalist should manage to cast some basic spells", she said with her iconic grin. "And besides, I am a genius, did you forget about that?”

She gave me a wink and ordered Authen to resume his paddling.

For the rest of the passage I was compelled to sit in the middle of the boat. But I was thankful for that because the first Krait attack wasn't going to be the last one.

I knew we must have been on our way for a great many hours by now, because the sun had long transcended its zenith. Around midday, we made a short break on the shore and had bought some cheap food rations from a grumpy looking human woman, which we ate right then and there.

I really enjoyed the break, seeing how a total of five Krait had already fallen victim to Authen and Zojja while I huddled in the boat like a scared dog. Luckily we managed the rest of the fights much easier than the first one.

Authen justified the notion by saying that the other Krait had been alone on the one side and had underestimated the strength of such a tiny boat on the other.

But way too soon, our break had come to an end and before I knew what was happening, I was sitting in the middle of our transportation again.

The first gleams of red and purple had become visible in the sky. We approached a swampy area that not only smelled horribly, but it’s floor was also covered with craters and remains of fires.

“What on earth has happened here...?” I mumbled some more to myself, trying my best to ignore the stench as much as possible.

“Welcome to the heart of the Sparkfly Fen, the Splintered Coast. Do you see the lab in the distance? That’s where we’ll find Narru", Zojja said, pointing towards the area in question. "These craters all emerged with the many attacks of Tequatl, a being which has been relentless with its attacks on the lands even through the massive throwbacks on each side."

Zojja turned towards me. "With their undead minions being burnt, they won't dare to rise ever again."

The comment gave me goose bumps. Hopefully the conversation with Narru wouldn’t take too long, and we could get away from this horrible land as soon as possible.

“I know exactly what you're thinking", Zojja stared at me with a serious glance. “Even if our timing is good, we will be staying here over night. I won’t dare pass these waters by night!”

And again, I could see my hope burst like a bubble. Well, at least the lab seemed to be a safe place and wouldn’t get attacked by Krait at night.

Would it...?

Together with Authen, I pulled the boat as closely into the shore so the waves wouldn't pull it back into the sea. I tied it up to a small, withered-looking tree, its few remaining leaves having taken on a grayish color.

Zojja didn’t bother to wait for us, and I had to run the whole way to catch back up with her. A simple task was proven much more difficult because of the sandy floor, and more than once I stumbled around with my arms fumbling over the surface's irregularities. Stones and twigs blocked my way every few feet. Until I caught up, my toes were covered with scratches and my shoes were now full of sand, and that made the running even more complicated.

“You are toddling around like a duck", Zojja commented, laughing when she recognized me on her side. “To be honest, you don't have the most elegant gait."

I snorted. “It’s not that easy to walk if you’re suddenly missing two toes!”

Before the discussion could escalate, another Asura was hurrying out of the lab and stared at our small group with something in their hands.

I couldn't quite make out what they were holding, and I was unsure if their face was of surprise or doubt.

The Asura had glowing green eyes, and her coppery hair that was bound together to a tail. She had small pointy ears that stuck upwards. She was dressed in full armor, and it looked to be a mix of mithril plates and leather ornaments. Attached on her back was a suitable and very dangerous looking longbow made of steel.

In my eyes, she embodied the appropriate title of _Warmaster_.

“My ears, Zojja! What are you doing here?", she nearly shouted. "The last time I’ve seen you was shortly after the disbandment of Destiny’s Edge!”

A painful expression covered Zojja's eyes for a tiny moment, but it disappeared so fast that I wondered if I had just imagined it. “Excelsior, Narru. I’m fully aware that we did not exactly part the most peaceful way last time. Still, I need your help and want to call in the favor you still owe me.”

“Funny, because the last I remember it was you that started the conflict the last time. And then you just disappeared out of the town", Narru said, crossing her arms. “But, you’re right. I still owe you something. So, what is it? And who’s that person with you?”

“Is there a possibility we could talk somewhere uninterrupted?” Zojja asked, throwing a glance at Authen. The Sylvari understood immediately and returned to the boat without complaining.

“In my office we will be undisturbed, as long as the lab isn’t attacked by Krait", Narru answered. "The krewe of United Arcanists will take care of all the other problems.”

I didn’t dare to ask what she could have meant by ' _other problems'_ , so I followed Narru without saying another word. We were led upstairs and through a heavy door made of steel, the thing leading us into a dimly lit room.

Narru closed the door behind us and activated some light sources on the top so the area was aflame with an unsteady blue light. The room itself was filled with bookshelves and some lab tables, their surfaces containing various experiments that were bubbling away. Within the center, stood a slender office table that was covered in documents.

After Zojja and I had taken seats opposite to Narru, she offered us a drink that smelled something quite similar to rum.

The warmaster pushed some documents aside with her forearm before beginning her questioning. “Well then, go for it. What brings you here?”

For a long time Narru just watched us in silence after Zojja had ended her explanation. She sighed loudly and moved back a strand of hair that had gotten loose from her ponytail.

“Are you aware of what you are demanding from me, Zojja? Why is this Asura so important to you?” she asked.

Zojja nodded. “That I am. Szallejh is... someone special. I can’t explain it in detail, but believe me when I say that she is full of potential. Please, Narru. Without you, she has no chance against the Arcane Council.”

“We could have never possibly defeated Tequatl that thoroughly without the help of your megalaser. This time they will need a long time to recover before they are able to attack our coast again - and by then we will be waiting with the laser to kill them. I owe you much for this, but I don’t know if I can grant you this favor.”

Though Zojja had told me before to leave the speaking to her, she now signaled me with a look that I was allowed to speak, after I had been pleading for it with my eyes.

“Narru... I know that this is a hard decision for you. But you don’t incur any liabilities. I don’t require any gold and you won’t even notice a big difference", I began, keeping my voice steady. "Though we are making the claim of you having a daughter, I will keep my nose out of your private life, just as I know you can disassociate yourself from me. Nobody will make you accountable for things I may do. All we want from you is to simply confirm towards the council about what Zojja told you earlier. That’s all.”

“My sister is a genius. Her story is quite trustworthy, and there is almost no counter evidence. While I had been stationed in the Shiverpeaks, I only talked to a few Vigil and most of them have probably fallen in the fight against the dragons by now. Nobody could deny that I have given birth to a child in that time... though I would have never passed my prodigy onto some Norn!”

Zojja laughed faintly. “What would you have done otherwise? Vigil have far too much pride to abandon their duty ahead of time, whatever solid reasons there may be. Even I know that.

She continued. "And to take a newborn onto a patrol? Please! Not even a Norn would have such a stupid idea. In your case, it would have been the only opportunity to consign the nearest village to care of your child while you’re patrolling with your squad! This way no one will scrutinize the lack of knowledge and the sometimes weird manners this one has.”

She patted my arm encouragingly, but I already knew that Zojja didn’t mean that last part as an insult. It was simply stating that I had absolutely no clue about some of the Asura socializations. But I was bound and determined to improve my knowledge in the next few weeks.

“Of course", Narru mumbled, and I wondered if she was referring to the Norn village or to my lack of knowledge.

She stood up with a pondering look and arranged some of the documents to her left. “Well then, I will do it. But this will repay the debt for once and for all, Zojja!”

My heart took a leap, similar to when the council had first granted me a permit of residence. But before I could open my mouth to thank Narru, the door behind us was torn open and a heavily breathing full-armored Asura stormed inside, his face covered in blood.

“What the...?” Narru started, furious at the sudden intrusion. But the other Asura didn’t give her the time to speak.

“Krait...” he said, taking a deep breath. “Krait are attacking the lab. They are after the energy storage units!” He had barely finished the sentence when screams resonated behind him. He ran back outside, a short sword in one hand and a big, magically glowing shield in the other.

Narru didn’t hesitate even a second. Instantly she grabbed her bow and a quiver full of arrows which had been leaning against the nearby wall. She followed the Asura to the outside, without paying attention to us any longer.

“What should we do now, Zojja?” I asked in slight panic and disbelief, because I was entirely fed up with Krait by now.

“What do you think, genius? We fight! Wield your weapon and out you go!” she replied before disappearing out the lab entrance as well.

Meanwhile the scattered screams had turned into a genuine war turmoil. Weapons clanged against weapons, and both Krait and Asura were screaming in pain. With shivering hands I loosened the hammer from the backpack and clutched it with both hands. Now that there was a real fight approaching - and not a single Krait that could be killed with ease by Zojja or Authen - it seemed incredibly heavy for me.

Hesitantly I left the room and paced down the stone steps, my gaze entranced by the scene that ran by ahead of me.

Almost two dozen Krait had convened around the lab and were now trying to destroy the energy storage units that were lightheartedly humming away. The krewe of United Arcanists, who granted the Vigils that had been stationed here shelter in their lab, was only made up of about ten Asura. But they seemed to have the experience being confronted by Krait, even though their numbers were few. They all wore battle-scarred weapons, and it was obvious they knew how to wield them.

I could make out Narru in the distance while she tried to protect the storage units that were the farthest out. Four krait circled around her, and because her longbow wasn’t made for melee fighting, she had swapped to a dagger. Its blade glowed in an unhealthy green color.

_Venom, I supposed._

But the majority of the numbers were on the Krait’s side, and even though Narru absolutely deserved her title, the beasts inflicted her with more and more scratches and increasingly bigger wounds.

But the tide turned when Zojja became aware of the situation and sent one of the Krait, who had leapt at her, to kingdom come with a fireball. Instantly she cast a lightning spell that not only covered her, but sent off two of the Krait attacking Narru. The Warmaster took advantage of the distraction, and finished off the remaining enemies in front of her.

Both of the Krait that had been sent flying in the distance were finished off by Narru with two precise shots from her bow. She tore off a strip of cloth from her skirt to tape up the heavy bleeding on her arm.

I concentrated on a group of Asura that were facing three enemies ahead of me. One of them had been killed already, but the second one had specifically avoided all attacks and was able to hit an Asura with every one of its spear strikes.

The same Asura that had warned us earlier was starting a counter attack, but the Krait whipped his sword out of his hand with such immense energy, that the Asura quickly went down. Before he could react, the spear pierced his heart and he lay there lifeless.

Revenge took a blood and dirt covered Asura, and soon they were cutting through the Krait from top to bottom. Powerless, she fell down besides the dead Asura, and took his head in her lap before lulling her upper body back and forth in sorrow.

As I ran past, I could still hear her sobbing at the stairs, and it broke my heart.

There were losses on every side, but it seemed that the Asura were gaining the upper hand

Suddenly I tasted something salty on my lips, and I recognized that I was crying - I had never before in my life seen so much pain and death.

But I didn’t have the time to think about the depressing moment any longer - because the third Krait from the group had spotted me and wriggled with determination right towards me.

My blood felt like it had frozen, and my limbs refused any command I gave them.

 _Run!_ It screamed in my head, but I couldn’t do anything. It was as though I was solidified.

_He will kill you. You shouldn’t be here, not in this world. And now you will die, and there is no way back. Zojja..._

Only when Zojja called out my name that I realized I must have actually screamed her name out loud. The Krait was only was a stone’s throw away from me, and I closed my eyes upon death’s door - then I felt something hot and the Krait in front of me screamed aloud in pain. A fireball had perforated his body and had driven him to his knees, but he wasn’t yet dead.

“Do something! Fight, by Oola's ghost!” Zojjas voice resonated while she tried to finish off two Krait that had come too close towards one of the storage units.

Suddenly I felt the blood rushing through my body again and I lifted the hammer. My body obeyed again. Without thinking, I smashed the hammer down onto the Krait - again and again. With every smash I let out a scream, a scream of sorrow, of rage, of fear. I didn’t subside until the Krait was nothing more than a bunch of bone splinters and scaled slime.

Only then did I recognize what I had just done.

_You have killed someone. Again._

That thought made me sick but given the fact that there still were some Krait alive, I forced myself to stay strong.

I ran towards an Asura that was desperately trying to fight off the strikes of an already heavily wounded Krait. When he saw me approaching, he changed his aim and stabbed me repeatedly, his spear leaving a huge hole in my right arm. Blazing pain shot up my arm and I couldn’t feel my limb anymore.

More concerning though, was that the puncture site was forming a black circle growing quite quickly- _poison!_

Panic flooded me and I staggered, my thoughts quickly overrun by the pain.

An Asura nearby beheaded the Krait with a sober strike, and in the same move also split off a scaled arm of another monster. The serpentine's painful scream came to an abrupt fade as an axe cut through his throat.

Suddenly, Authen was standing in front of me and appeared to be covered in red blood splatters, but none of them seemed to originate from him.

“Are you alright?” he asked with worry on his face, but I could only make out blurry noises.

The venom was still spreading inside my body, and it had moved from my arm to my whole torso. It felt like it had been filled with ice cold numbness.

The world around me seemed to turn, but when Authen's strong hands caught me, I recognized that it was _me_ who was turning. He helped me to lean my upper body against one of the storage units, the humming surface feeling comfortably warm against my back.

Authen took out a small black vial and poured its content down my throat.

Whatever it was, it burned in my lungs and filled my mouth with a taste which could best be compared to a mix of rotten flesh and dead plants. I coughed, retched and struggled not to lose my stomach contents, but slowly the numbness faded bit by bit. A glance towards my arm confirmed that the black flesh was slowly being overtaken by a grayish color, and eventually it transformed to a much healthier color.

But still the wound was bleeding. Authen tied a strip of cloth around it as solid as he could. This sudden movement caused a new wave of pain that made me howl, but at least my vision was fairly clear again.

I observed the coast. We had won. None of the Krait were still alive, and Zojja and another Asura were already started to pull all the Krait corpses together to burn them.

But our side had experienced losses too.

Besides the Asura's whose death I had witnessed, two other krewe members had lost their life - one of them being the Asura who had mourned about the male one. I supposed that one of the Krait had killed her from behind while she had been mourning. Those three were laid and were burnt separate from the Krait.

Authen had meanwhile moved on and took care of the other wounded.

Narru appeared besides me, still bleeding from various smaller wounds on her body. The bigger one had stopped bleeding by now, but the stripe around it was dry with blood. She was pale in the face and was breathing heavily, but the most horrible thing to see was the fury and sadness in her eyes.

“Krait!” she hissed full of hate. “I should have never agreed for this krewe to produce their research at this place. After so many attacks, we should have known that the Krait would form a bigger alliance one day soon... those victims were unnecessary...”

She shook her head, as though she wanted to shake off her thoughts. Then she looked me in the eyes. “Are you okay? You look horrible.”

“Thanks to Authen, the poison wasn't able to spread any further. But it hurts.. quite a lot", I mumbled with clenched teeth. Now that the adrenaline rush was subsiding, I was more aware of the pain caused by my wounds.

“Narru... when the Krait attacked, I... I couldn’t do anything. My body was frozen, I just couldn’t move! It was like ice flowing through my veins instead of blood. Even if the control is back now, my feet are still cold as ice... I really thought I would die!”

Narru watched me, searching my face for something. “You literally got cold feet, hm? But you did quite well for a beginner", she began. "But let me tell you something... if you really want to call yourself the daughter of a warmaster and an Asura who grew up with Norn, you should change something about your current fighting abilities. Best before the Arcane Council summons the next meeting.”

“And you got some ideas on how to manage that?” Zojja asked, who was now done with her devastating duty. Both of the fires were blazing fiercely, one holding the fallen enemies while the other was for the fallen allies.

“I will train her personally. In the Shiverpeaks", she answered. "Give me one week and I will make her an Asura that is worthy of having warmaster Narru as her mother.”

Exhausted, I leaned my head against the energy storage. That could only mean one thing: More fights. And more pain.

“And when do you want to start?” Zojja pressed.

Narru laughed. “Tomorrow.”


	6. Traces in the Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was obvious that I didn’t have any time to dawdle around, no matter how reluctant I was about that. Though I didn’t know what Narru would do to me if I was too late, I didn’t want to find out under any circumstances.

The next morning came way too soon. I had dreamt about my family, about the life that I had lived only just a few days ago. If someone had told me a week ago that I would soon lead a whole new life in Tyria, I would have declared them for being insane.

Would I ever get the chance to go back? What was my family doing right now? Were they searching for me, did time stand still in the other world as long as I was here, or was a parallel-me living my former life now? Had there been more cases like mine, and if yes, what had happened to them?

Even if I could not answer a single question, I wanted to get back. This world was unique, amazing, fantastic - but it was also dangerous. Tyria fought against Elder Dragons, and I was right in the middle of it. But I couldn’t even fight! How could I ever dare to believe that I would possibly survive more than a few days in this world? And what would happen to me if I died? Would I return to my old life, or would I disappear once and for all?

_I want to go back. I just want to go home._

“Back where? To Rata Sum?” I heard a strange, but familiar voice.

Someone parted the curtains without much of a warning, and my blanket disappeared with a sudden flash of movement. My condition was quite similar to the morning during my stay at the tavern in Soren Draa. Except this time, rather than having just a headache, every single part of my body ached as well.

They had cleaned the wound on my arm last evening and smeared an ill smelling balm on it, which made the pain bearable and closed the wound as well as possible. But Authen had warned me that I would still feel the consequences of the poison for days - and now I began to realize what he had meant with that.

My right arm was starting to hurt again because the balm’s effects faded. The left shoulder, where Zojja had grazed me with her fireball, blazed and tore like a sunburn. It felt as though pure fire seemed to be flowing through my whole body.

Added to that, was now the dazzling light and the sudden envelopment of cold, after the wonderful warm blanket had disappeared so abruptly.

I moaned and hid my head in the crook of my arm, but as the seconds passed and nothing changed, I dared to peek a look. In front of me stood Narru with her arms crossed, and she was already in full gear and was shouldering a wanderer's backpack.

That was definitely not good.

“What are you waiting for? Night is long gone!" she began. "We have a very long way ahead of us, and not much time. Get dressed and pack your bag, I want to get moving in half an hour.”

“Eh?” was all I could give as an answer. It was so early in the morning, and my brain wasn’t capable of bringing out more words. I supposed it was still a long time until midday, but I was hungry, everything was hurting, and I would have given anything for a nice warm bath right about now.

Narru groaned at my lack of immediate movement, and threw my bag to me at the hammock. “My ears, what are you? Asura or Skritt? I already said yesterday, that I’m going to be training you. In the Shiverpeaks. Starting today. And time is running away from us. I expect to see you at the lab entrance in half an hour.”

With these last words, she disappeared and shut the door with a bang.

Painstakingly, I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. The skin on my left shoulder was peeling and it looked horrible, and the right arm was swollen and hot. I definitely needed more of this healing balm.

_Since when did I admit to this training...?_

It was obvious that I didn’t have any time to dawdle around, no matter how reluctant I was to the concept. But I didn’t know what Narru would do to me if I was late, and I didn’t want to find out.

Sighing, I grabbed my clothes from where I had regardlessly thrown them besides the hammock last night, and I began to put them on. They were full of dust and my shirt was torn with blood-soaked stains here and there on its sleeves. Not only that, but they didn’t smell pleasant either. A short glance inside the contents of my bag told me that I had no other choice though.

_You should have brought a change of clothes with you._

I sighed again and brushed my ruffled hair with my fingers as well as possible before tying it into a temporary braid. It would have to do since there was no mirror. But considering my current ragged-looking appearance, I was sure I couldn’t make it look much worse with my hair style. Resigned, I shouldered the bag and fixed the hammer in its holder.

At least I had cleaned my weapon last evening.

Without a clock, it was hard to tell how long I needed, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. Steadily I became aware of the comfort I would’ve had in my old life. I would have just grabbed my smartphone and I could’ve set the alarm - or even call a taxi to drive me home. Now I would probably have better luck with hourglasses and carrier pigeons.

Ignoring the pain as much as possible, I dragged my feet out of the room located above Narru’s study room, and I stumbled down the stairs.

The common room was nearly empty except for a hand full of Asura, and the surrounding atmosphere felt quite heavy-hearted. Some seemed to be mourning after the victims, while others appeared just shocked by the unusual, devastating attack.

I didn’t mind much at all, because at the very least it meant I could avoid all unwanted attention this way.

But what caught my attention in one of the room's corners, was a table fully loaded and nearly bursting with food. The assortment wasn’t that big, and it certainly couldn't compete with the taste of Bromm's creations back in Rata Sum.

But it would definitely be enough to sate my hunger.

The table was filled with sandwiches, and its spread smelled quite sweet. I figured it could have been made of omnomberries, and there were bundles of bread rolls and major pieces of ham to go along with it. Besides those, stood some jars filled with water and clay mugs.

I walked over, taking a sip of the drink and grabbing a roll with a piece of ham.

I almost dropped the thing, because just as I turned around, Zojja had appeared right behind me. Deep and dark rings coated the underside of her eyes, and she looked as if she hadn’t slept for weeks.

“You look horrible!” I said, the comment being the first thing I could say with a mouth full of breakfast. My brain still hadn't switched on to full activation, and I didn't realize how blunt my words must have sounded.

Zojja snorted and took a slice of bread. “Funny, I was just about to say the same thing about you. How are your injuries doing?”

I shrugged my shoulders, but ultimately regretted the movement. With my face distorted in pain, I just mumbled. "It hurts.”

Zojja rummaged around in her bag and gave me a small box, its bad smelling contents something I was already familiar with. “Here’s some more of the balm, but be spare with it. You’ll need it if Narru is going to be training you.”

Thankful, I took the box after I had stuffed the last piece of ham into my mouth. I applied some of the ill-smelling balm into the stab wound and stowed the rest of it back in my bag.

I looked up to Zojja to speak again. “Narru wants to head out in a few minutes. I’m not sure what to expect, but I’m sure it isn't going to be a walk in the park...”

“Definitely not. Narru is a warmaster, and she will unlikely be able to make concessions for you. Especially after your performance yesterday...” Zojja said with a stern-sounding tone.

I wanted to protest at the accusation, but she interrupted me with a wink of her hand. “Believe me, it’s for your best. Think about it when my sister is lighting a fire under your backside the next time.”

With a resigned sigh, I continued. “I’ll try my best. And what will you do now?”

“The Pact is ready for their final assault against Zhaitan. Either we’ll win, or Tyria is doomed. I have developed a Mega-Laser with enough firepower to harm even an Elder Dragon", she explained. "This weapon makes defeat as good as impossible, at least I have been the one creating it! The only thing left now is to make the _Glory of Tyria_ operational. And therefore they need me.”

“I’m sure that you will be most victorious. And I look forward to seeing you again, once Tyria has gotten rid of its dragon infestation", I said.

_As long as the Pact will be victorious and you’ll survive..._

Zojja said her goodbyes with a short slap on my still-healing shoulder. I stepped outside to the stairs to the lab entrance where Narru was already waiting for me impatiently.

“You’re late”, she said with a nasty look. She threw a heavy looking mantle at me, which appeared to be made out of wool judging by the material and the weight. “Here, you are going to need this. Let’s go.”

Clumsily, I caught the cloth bundle and tried to stow it in my bag while we were running. Narru didn’t seem to be in a happy mood, so I didn’t dare take a pause to properly store it away.

Wherever Narru wanted to begin my training, I figured it must have been located within a very cold place. And it was far, far away, considering the enormous heat here currently in the jungle and how far we would have to travel to escape it.

Even though the sun had barely chased away the morning fog, I already knew that a very long day lay ahead us - and none that I would have wished myself.

Narru set a blistering pace that seemed to be more fitting for a race more than an actual trek, and soon my feet hurt more and more with each step I took. Not only that, but there were also insects living quite comfortably in this swampy area and they found us to be the perfect fodder. Every few seconds I had to chase away another fly, and more and more red itchy bites appeared on my skin. More than once I threw stolen glances at Narru, who seemed totally unimpressed by this insect pest and just marched forwards at a quick pace, her face fierce and stern.

I felt uncomfortable in this silence. Preferably I would have talked to Narru, to learn more about her and give her a chance to get to know more about me. But on the one hand I didn’t dare as I was fearing her expected reaction. And on the other hand, I was already struggling to get air into my lungs anyway and I couldn’t bring out a single word even if I tried.

The sun was still far from reaching its highest point, and I was already sweating like a horse. During the last hour, I had wasted many thoughts about stopping and just collapsing on the ground. But I wanted to make a good impression and not to look like a complete weenie; even though I was sure she had already thought that about me, so I forced myself to carry on. Luckily, Narru decided to make a break shortly before midday so we could eat something and rest.

Even before Narru opened her mouth to say something, I had already dropped myself onto the hard ground and put my head on my knees in exhaustion. Narru mumbled something, and though I couldn’t see her face, I knew that she was rolling her eyes.

My knees felt like jelly, and I was gasping for breath when I lifted my head again and finally started to examine my surroundings. Apparently we had already travelled quite the distance, but the area hadn’t changed much. The swamp like stench was almost completely gone, and here and there the green floor was streaked by rocks and stony ground, but otherwise it still looked like the area back in the swamps. Around us, small stony hills lined the way and in the far distance, I could make out an enormous mountain whose summit seemed to perpetually spit out black smoke.

“Where are we?” I asked, after I finally had been able to catch my breath. I thankfully took a piece of already hardened bread that Narru gave me.

“We’re passing Mount Maelstrom - the gigantic vulcan that you can see in the distance. Soon enough we’ll reach a Sylvari outpost, and a friend will accompany us from there on. Once we reach the mountain, it won’t be too much farther to Timberline Falls. I’m sure we will arrive at our destination by nightfall.”

_Huh, Shiverpeak Mountains. Therefore, the reason for the thick coat I had been thrown._

I stared at Narru, who was halfheartedly chewing on her bread, her gaze losing itself somewhere in the distance without recognizing much of anything. Right now, the dark circles under her eyes were more visible than ever and her white bulging knuckles seemed to reveal a fierce tension.

“Narru... is something wrong?” I dared to ask cautiously, and

She examined me thoroughly without answering, and then turned her gaze back to a distant point. I figured she wasn't going to respond to the question I asked. But eventually she sighed heavily, and swallowed the last piece of bread before raising her claw like hands to her face.

“Those Asura, they didn’t have to die. Their sacrifice was senseless and their death redundant. If only you had been an experienced warrior...”

I raised an eyebrow, not sure if I misheard. “Wait a moment. Are you seriously blaming _me_ for what happened?” I asked with completely disbelief. Slightly enraged, I let out a snort, even though I knew that Narru was somewhat right.

She still didn’t face me, even when she continued to talk, and her voice was nothing more than a whisper. “Yes, I am."

Narru continued. "If you had been able to fight back, and we knew how to defend our lives better... then those Asura would still be alive. We should have been prepared! By Oola's ghost, so many previous Krait attacks that we were able to withstand unscathed. It was a warning, and what an obvious one! Why were we so blind, and too arrogant to see?

Her voice lowered in tone. "If he had been prepared... if we had ordered reinforcements. It was evident that the krait were gathering themselves to start a major offence. How could we...” she murmured, shaking her head with disbelief. Her face was marked with anger and sadness.

Finally she looked me straight in the eye, and in hers I could see tears of wrath and desperation. “Those Asura were my friends, Szallejh! This krewe granted me and my troops an accommodation after the Vigil stationed us in the swamp. And I wasn’t even able to defend them. What kind of warmaster am I, if I’m not capable of keeping my allies alive? They will relocate the lab, and I’ll personally arrange that. This area isn’t safe for a krewe anymore. And after we defeat Tequatl, the Vigil too will leave the swamp. I’m not ready to gamble any more lives - all for nothing.”

I peered at the ground underneath my feet. Of course I had been struck by the death of those Asura, but I didn’t think about the relationship Narru could have had to them and what their death could mean for her. I wanted to say something calming, something that could take away a bit of Narru's tension, but I knew that every single word of mine would only make it worse. So I kept my mouth shut and waited for her outburst to be over while I had to bite my own lips so I wouldn’t burst into tears myself.

At last Narru jumped to her feet, shouldered her backpack and motioned for me to get up too. “Come on now. We still have a long way to go.”

Although I had managed to catch my breath during our short break, I felt entirely drained after that encounter.

However, it was a good distraction to focus on my burning legs, and quite quickly we reached a small valley where a Sylvari settlement was located. From the distance, it didn't distinguish itself from its surroundings, as the tents and huts roofs were made of oversized leaves that fitted perfectly to the forest. But upon coming closer to it, I could see the fine constructs within its inner workings. Though I was not sure which parts of the settlement had been man-made and which had been grown that way.

Several Sylvari were either standing around, sitting under the various leaves, or talking quietly to each other. Nobody paid much attention to us. Strangers in transit were probably a common occurrence around here.

Only one Sylvari rose immediately when she saw us, and she approached us with a huge grin on her face. At the sight of this woman, even Narru’s previously dour face brightened a bit. The two exchanged a friendly greeting, and then the stranger nodded towards me too.

Her skin shimmered a deep purple color, and it was quite reminiscent of tree bark with its strong fibrillation. Her hairstyle, which consisted of dark leaves growing to one side, confirmed the impression that Sylvari were creatures made of plants even though their statue had been modeled on those of humans.

The Sylvari's clothes were a masterful play of red and blue patterns dotted with various bows and lace. Anyone else would have thought this outfit to be ridiculous, but on her it just looked right. She was equipped with a wooden scepter whose tip was glowing eerily, and her hands seemed to be bathed in a layer of clear blue water.

“Nahraija! Good to see you!" Narru announced. She introduced us briefly and then explained the purpose of our trip.

“I have already been expecting you, Narru", Nahraija said. "This forest has eyes and ears everywhere, you know? Surely you will not mind if I accompany you.”

Narru laughed. “Not at all, actually your presence is very welcome. To be honest, I was hoping that you would join us.”

Nahraija grabbed a small, inconspicuous bag already sitting at her feet and walked a few steps ahead.

Confused, I followed the other two. I couldn’t let go of the feeling that I hadn't noticed something important pass by. How did the Sylvari already know that and especially about when we would arrive? And why had she assumed to accompany us?

I waved goodbye to the other Sylvari staring after us, but none of them seemed to be even slightly surprised that two strangers just ran into their settlement. Maybe someday I’d have the opportunity to talk to Narru and get some answers to the many questions that were floating around in my head.

Now that a third person had joined us, the mood had grown much more pleasant compared to before. Narru told me that she and Nahraija had met because of the Vigil, and they had done many assignments together. Although the Sylvari had long-since left the Vigil, they still remained in contact.

Nahraija talked a lot, and her carefree nature made it easy to listen to her and to forget the time while we were walking. I was all the more surprised when I suddenly became aware of the drastic change in my environment.

The air was much drier than in the wetlands, and the lush meadows had given way to a dreary bottom on which hardly anything could thrive. In the distance I could see snow-capped peaks, and soon the first snow covered the ground to our feet. The temperature had dropped noticeably, but I was too distracted by Nahraija’s stories and I was so warmed up by the long and fast running, that I hadn’t even noticed. Only now a cold breeze made me shiver, and gratefully I took the coat out of my backpack. It scratched wherever it met bare skin, but at least it kept me warm. I knew that I would be very grateful for the next few days to have this coat on hand.

In the meantime, a fine snow had started to fall from the gray clouds above us and our shoes crunched on the snow-covered rock. Without the beacons that burned at regular intervals, I would not have been able to find a way between the rocks that towered around us.

Narru went unerringly from fire to fire, and she too hat put her coat on for now, as not to freeze in the cold.

Only the Sylvari, although most of her body was uncovered, seemed unaffected by the colder temperatures.

Suddenly Narru stopped and motioned us not to move. Completely noiseless, she reached for her bow and cocked an arrow in, ready to attack at any moment. I didn’t understand what was happening, but I was well aware that there was danger around us. It was not until Nahraija drew my attention to a green monster being attacked by a wolf pack that I realized where the danger came from.

The orc-like creature was dressed only in a loincloth, and its back was covered with spines. But the most outrageous thing about it, were the two heads sitting on its neck.

Now I remembered the name of these creatures; it was an Ettin.

Fortunately the Ettin ignored us, since it was too busy flinging the wolves away with its club again and again. But as soon as it had caught a wolf now lying dazed in the snow, the next one had already jumped onto the Ettin to bite into its flesh. Green and red blood mingled in the snow below, but eventually the Ettin went down because of its numerous bites. The wolves, who found its greenish flesh inedible, trudged the other way together, making sure the enemy no longer was a danger for them.

As Narru took down her bow, I audibly let out my breath, only now realizing that I had been holding it for quite a while. I was shaking and sweat stood on my forehead, as I really didn’t want to fight such a thing. Thankfully for me, the wolves had finished the job before we had to.

“Come now, let's go. It won’t be long until the Ettins will come looking for their comrade", Narru growled faintly and continued marching along the invisible path between the beacons.

Nahraija was silent; as apparently the area here was far too dangerous for light-hearted chatter. Not that it made me feel better in any way.

After what felt like an eternity, Narru left the path and led us higher in the mountains. It was a lot more of a strenuous path, and I slipped on the smooth stones several times while in danger of falling. If it hadn't been for Nahraija’s hand grabbing me at the last moment, I likely would have fallen down the mountainscape.

We reached the peak, and from up here we had a very good view of the beacon-lit path we had followed before. It was besieged by Ettins, Dredge and other beings that didn’t look particularly friendly. It would have taken ages for us to fight our way through them, if we would have even made it alive.

By now, the sun had completely disappeared behind the mountains and the freezing cold was spreading. Despite the thick mantle I wore, I was shivering. In the increasing darkness, it also became more difficult not to lose the grip under my feet.

But instead of lighting a torch, the Sylvari had a much more intriguing way of getting around with our problem of the darkness. On Nahraija’s bark-like skin, more and more white veins appeared, and a white light pulsed brightly. The darker our surroundings got, the brighter she seemed to shine on her own, causing the ground beneath our feet to be shrouded in her pulsing light.

At last we could make out the sparks of a big campfire rising to the sky. There were voices, laughter and sound of colliding beer mugs. After a hard and slippery descent, which I spent more on my butt than on my feet, we stood in front of a group of snow-covered tents and around some of the Norn who made themselves comfortable around the camp.

One of the Norn who saw us approach, spoke with a raised beer mug. “Welcome strangers! My name is Aidan Baersson. How can I help you on this fine evening?” he asked.

The sides of his head had been shaved and his hair had been braided in a thick black braid, reaching almost to his waist. Lavishly tattooed patterns stretched from his forehead to his entire bare torso and then certainly still further down, but thick leather pants blocked the view from the navel down.

Narru introduced us and asked if we could spend at least one night in the camp, since it was late evening already.

“Surely, stay as long as you want! There’s enough beer and meat to go around, so go ahead, take it!” Aidan replied with a grin.

Nahraija didn’t need to be told twice and without hesitation, she accepted a full beer mug from another Norn and took a huge sip.

Narru hesitated, her eyes searching around the camp. “Say, Aidan… I’m searching for a Norn named Halla Eldarsdottir. Actually, I was expecting her to be here. Where can I find her?”

The eyes of the Norn flashed when he heard the name. Grinning, he tipped down the rest of his beer bug and blurted out a remarkably loud burp. “Halla, well… she left yesterday to hunt a white bear somewhere east of here, because someone said the beast was supposedly sighted there. She’ll probably be traveling for the next few days. But you can stay as long until she returns. She won’t be out for more than five days I guess, since she’s far too addicted to our beer.”

He laughed and gave Narru a friendly pat on the shoulder. “And now come, drink with us!”

Narru first glanced at the Sylvari, who was already slightly drunk and was now sitting on a stump of wood between the Norn and laughing loudly over something before she looked back over at me. Keeping her eyes on me, she spoke to Aidan. “Thank you for your hospitality, and I’m sure we’ll make use of it at least this evening. But first, my… daughter and I need to take care of something.”

I followed Narru slightly confused, and she passed Aidan and the Norn camp to deposit her luggage. I followed her example with my small bag, and we crossed a small creek which I had almost plunged into because of the darkness before we finally came to a stand on a small hill lined with snow-covered fir trees.

“What are we doing here, Narru?” I asked, shivering. I wrapped myself even tighter in the cloak and tried to recognize something in the faint glow of the campfire behind us.

“Your training, have you already forgotten about that?” she answered. We don’t have much time, so we shouldn’t waste precious hours drinking. Take off your coat.”

“What!?” I stared at her, startled and unable to believe what I just heard.

_Had she lost her mind in the bitter cold out here?_

“You should take it off. It will only be in your way. The movement will keep you warm anyway", she continued.

“But I left my weapon back in the camp, and-”

Narru interrupted me with an impatient gesture. As I reluctantly opened the buckle of my coat and pulled it off my shoulders, I tried to rub myself warm with trembling arms as much as I was able.

Narru began her first lesson. “To win a fight, you’ll need more than just a weapon. With weak opponents, it may be enough to just go wild with a hammer or anything, but you won’t get far with it. For stronger enemies, you’ll be dead after the first blow.”

I swallowed. It really was damn cold out here!

“But before I can teach you how to properly use your weapon, it’s important to learn how to avoid an opponent’s strike. Whenever you have the chance to run away, you should take it before you even think about reaching for your weapon. A life and death struggle should always be the last option if you can choose to stay alive. But if there’s no other way out, you need to be able to evade the enemy first, so you can stay alive until you can make the final strike.

With a grin, she stated confidently. "And you’ll learn how to do this. Today.”

Meanwhile Narru had gotten rid of her coat too, but even though she was just as lightly clothed as I was, she didn’t seem to care much about the cold right now.

“It’s completely dark out here, and I can't even see the hand in front of my eyes! How am I supposed to avoid you?” I asked. My mood was low – but at least I thought it couldn’t get any worse. My bones ached from the long march and I was freezing. Now I was somehow supposed to train in the dark.

“That’s the point. In combat, you need more than just your eyes. Rely on your perception, see, feel, hear, smell – all at the same time. Now try to avoid my attacks!”

Even before I had fully realized her words, a rather hard blow landed on my arm. I screamed out in pain and rubbed the throbbing spot, but the next strike came fast, and this time on my shoulder.

“Don’t just hang around, avoid my attacks! Focus on all your senses!” Narru yelled out.

As I desperately tried to see more in the dark than just black shadows, several more strikes landed all over my body. Tears streamed down my cheeks and they froze just as soon as they touched the ground at my feet. Anger rose inside of me, mingling with the pain and displeasure that had grown in the last few minutes.

Finally I understood what Narru was trying to tell me all this time.

A faint whirring in the air told me that Narru’s fist was coming at me again, and this time I ducked under her blow – with success I noted, because the pain didn’t appear. A warm feeling of triumph spread throughout me.

“Good. Very good. Keep it up!”Narru commended.

I was not concentrating on her words anymore, but rather the sound of her shoes in the snow. A branch broke to my left, and I took a quick step to the opposite direction and managed to escape Narru’s fist for a second time.

More and more, I managed to block out both the cold and the pain and instead concentrate on the most important things: the shadow behind which Narru was hiding, her footsteps in the snow, and the sound of her breath telling me where she was. Over time, more punches missed their target, and inexplicably, I even sensed where Narru would strike next.

Narru seemed content with the progress I made, as the punches that hit her target became harder and now came in quicker succession so that eventually she did not hold back. She flitted from place to place, beating first left and then suddenly she was on the right.

I felt the change in draft as she changed sides and I responded by deliberately dodging her fist and coming to a stop behind her. But Narru had counted on it and turned around in the blow, so that she now rammed her arm into my stomach with enough force that it made me kneel down and whimper.

“You’re not as bad as I initially assumed", she said approvingly before raising her hand for the final punch.

As I saw the shadow rushing towards my head, an unprecedented power awoke within me. It forced me to gather all the strength left inside of me and to not give up so easily. Narru was startled as I roused myself at the very last moment and rolled away under her strike to take advantage of her carelessness. I give her a hard kick in the stomach while rolling, and hurled her on her back rudely with a surprised outcry.

Groaning, I got up and brushed the snow off my shoulders before offering Narru my hand to help her up. My body was sweaty from the effort, and heat had seized me during the training. But now the wind abruptly cooled the sweat on my skin and made me shiver.

Narru took a moment to find her voice, but then she laughed and smacked my shoulder in a kind way. “Not bad. Nowhere near good though, but you’re learning fast. Maybe you’re not a hopeless case after all!”

We collected our coats and returned back to the Norn camp. It must have been long after midnight, but there was still a lot going on in the camp. The Norn sang and laughed as they emptied beer pitchers, and Nahraija was still sitting among them but by now she seemed to be a little more than just drunk. Between all the muscle-bound, tattooed and half-naked Norn, she made a weird contrast with her delicate, luminous figure. Yet she got along with the Norn as though she were one of them.

Narru led me towards Nahraija and pushed me on the tree trunk. She mumbled a quick, “take care of her” towards the drunk Sylvari.

Then she walked towards Aidan to clarify in which of the tents we would spend the night.

Just as soon as I sat down, the heaviness and exhaustion of the day returned in full-force and it mingled with the pain of the many strikes I had just endured. I knew there were bound to be bruises formed from this training.

Nahraija handed me a pitcher, which contained a steaming liquid rather than beer. “Drink this, it will ease your pain a little bit,” she said even before I could ask a question about it.

Skeptically, I sipped at the hot drink but it didn’t taste quite as bad as I had been expecting. It was bittersweet, but the sweet touch largely covered the bitterness.

" _The latter probably came from willow bark_ " I thought, as I remembered that it was often used to cure pain of all kinds. In that case, it would actually bring me some relief.

“You’re exhausted, you should rest a bit", the Sylvari said, taking the mug once I had emptied it. She pointed towards a small tent that the Norn had cleared for us. I didn't need to be told twice about how tired I felt, and I fell into the tent opening and crawled half-heartedly onto one of the furry sleeping mats.

Gratefully, I snuggled into a blanket of Dolyak fur, and I fell asleep before I could even think about the day’s events.

When I woke up, I realized that I had been wrong the morning before. It could still be worse. It was getting worse every morning since I arrived in Tyria, and I was worried about how that would develop over the next few weeks. However, it was easier this morning as I was slowly getting used to waking up with pain riddling my body.

Tired, I opened my eyes and saw Narru shaking my shoulder softly and telling me to leave the tent. I peeled myself out of the warm blanket, saddened to be exposed to the cold northern air again. Next to me, Nahraija was still snoring, and I grinned at the thought of seeing such an elegant creature like a sylvari snoring like that.

She had pulled the blanket up to her chin, but the white veins still glowed in her face which meant it couldn’t be that late in the morning. Careful not to wake her, I followed Narru outside. Overnight, some fresh snow had fallen, and it had blurred almost all traces of the night's previous activities. The fire from before was also still burning thanks to some Norn that must have gotten up very early or simply hadn't slept at all.

Pulling the coat tightly around me, I gratefully accepted a pitcher of which the content's was almost certainly hot mead. The Norn also gave me a piece of Dolyak meat for breakfast. But the rest didn’t last long, as Narru urged that we had to start training while the day was still fresh.

Snorting, I cast a look into the sky, it's dark blue color illuminated by the first rays of the sun. It would be quite a while before the sun would rise behind the mountains. _"How can you get up so early…"_ I thought tiredly, putting the empty mug on the bench before following Narru to the clearing. I reached for my hammer in passing.

I wasn’t sure how to survive this day, because with the sore muscles that plagued me, I couldn't even lift the hammer up over my head properly. But I knew there was no other way, and the sooner I faced up to it, the sooner it would be over.

Again, Narru lined up in front of me and I was quite surprised to see I was allowed to keep my cape on this time around.

“Well, you can run away from your enemies and if in doubt, dodge attacks. But there will be situations where these skills won’t help you in any way", she instructed.

She drew a long dagger, because her bow was an unsuitable weapon for a workout of this kind. “Most effective is an attack on areas such as the heart, in the head or in the guts. However, combat-approved enemies know how to protect these places well, and you should know that too."

Narru examined the blade in front of her, twisting it around. "It’ll be in your best interest to search for the weakness of your opponent. Everyone has a weakness; you just need to find it in time before they find yours. Weaken your opponent by crippling, bleeding, trying to get rid of his weapon, or knocking their fighting arm out of action. Then, if your opponent – even for a single heartbeat – is defenseless, make a strike.”

With her last words, Narru slammed her dagger onto my chest, but reflexively I raised my hammer so that the blade ricocheted off my weapon. Narru nodded, approving of my reaction.

“I’ll attack you now. Dodge as well as you can and block my attacks as though dodging is no longer possible. And remember, yesterday I only had my fist. Today, I have a sharp blade and I won’t be holding myself back with using it.”

I swallowed down the uncomfortable words from Narru, already feeling overwhelmed. I raised my hammer again as a sign that I was ready.

It was around early afternoon when we paused in our training for the first time. Not only had Narru made me block an attack numerous times, but she had also taught me how to disarm my opponent.

When Narru finally gave the signal to take a break, I let my exhausted self fall into the cold snow. The cold blanket was not only covered with dirty footprints, but it was also coated with bits of blood here and there. Several cuts adorned my body and I had ruined my clothes in some places. Fortunately for me, I had thrown off the cloak into the snow early on. At least I still had that intact to keep me warm.

Narru hadn't gotten away unscathed since my hammer had left some traces, and she too was breathing heavily as she joined me in the snow.

“You’re quite useful, I have to admit that. Give yourself a short break, I’m sure Nahraija can give you some relief", she commented. Her eyes wandered towards the sylvari, who had joined us some time ago and had been watching our training with much interest. Then she threw her dagger at my feet. “You’ll need that for the next step.”

The Sylvari got up and joined us in the snow, though she was still without any kind of clothing that had the potential to keep her warm.

“Do you ever feel cold?” I asked her while she took a look at my wounds and stopped the bleeding with some with her healing spells.

Nahraija smiled to herself. “I have a strong attachment to nature, and an even stronger one to the elements, especially to water. Snow and ice don’t bother me, they’re just another form of the element that I like the most.”

_That doesn’t really answer my question.._

I didn’t say anything more and let her do her work instead. Every time she put her hands on one of my wounds, a wave of the purest-looking water would seem to flow through me, wash away my pain, and seal the wound. I was fascinated to watch her keep her eyes closed in perfect concentration, while she muttered incomprehensible words to herself.

Now I knew why Narru had taken the Sylvari along with us: as a healer, she had a great benefit for someone who was just learning to fight.

It was already dark by the time Narru finished the training for the day, though it hadn't been quite as late as it had been the day before.

Nahraija had a lot to do again, but less with me and more with my teacher whom I had been attacking with her dagger during the afternoon.

Narru seemed pleased with me; though she didn’t say it out loud. But I saw the appreciative glances she gave me whenever I managed to break through her defenses again. And I sensed that I was changing, since my body was covered with spots, cuts and bumps, but the pain was becoming more bearable. I wanted this training, since I didn’t want to be stuck in a situation where I was helplessly dependent on others. I didn't want someone to lose their lives because of my incapability to fight - again.

I became stronger and my reflexes faster and more honed. Even if I fell into my bed like a corpse every evening and woke up the next morning with such intense pain that I could barely move, I held out.

Nahraija helped me wherever she could, and she was there for me when I could no longer control myself on the evening of the fourth day. I had burst into tears because of all the tension and feelings that accompanied me from day to day. Nahraija had led me to the source of a little stream, which was a little distance away from the Norn camp.

I had an urgent need to wash myself. Dirt and blood clung to my clothes and my skin, and my hair was matted and greasy. I figured I probably smelled worse than an undead.

It was now that we were standing in front of a small pool, a place where the freshwater in the brook sought its way in through the Shiverpeaks. While Nahraija was heating the water with her elementalist magic, I slipped out of the clothes that I would urgently need to replace upon returning back to Rata Sum. In the same moment that the cold wind hit my bare skin and almost made me freeze, I jumped into the now heated pool and was enveloped by the steam of the vapor from the warm water.

Nahraija soon joined me and began to comb the knots out of my hair with the brush I had brought out of my backpack.

The soothing bath suddenly awoke images of the past deep inside of me. Images of steaming bath tubs, movie evenings on the couch while wrapped in soft blankets with huge bowls of popcorn, and pictures of my family – all that together with the pain in my body. Those as well of the memories of my last few days here in Tyria was too much for me to handle right now. Tears welled up in my eyes and suddenly I was shaken by heavy sobs that I couldn’t hold back – and I didn’t want to.

Nahraija grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me into a tight embrace, holding me and humming soothing melodies until I had calmed down a bit.

 _My family…_ would I ever see them again? Would I ever be able to live my old life again, or would I have to stay captured inside of an Asura’s body until my death? Sure, it was exciting and Tyria was an incredibly fascinating world, but it was not _my_ world. I wanted to go back home, into a life that was not marked by pain and struggle. I didn’t want to fight dragons and other monsters; I wanted to watch the newest movies on TV.

But a feeling deep inside of me told me that this would not be possible, and that there wouldn’t be a way back for me. I had to come to terms with what I had here, but it wasn’t an easy feat.

My breathing had calmed down a bit, but my nose ran uninterrupted and every now and then a small sob escaped my mouth that I couldn’t hold back.

Nahraija, realizing that I was beginning to calm down, finally let go of me and turned around in the water so that she could look into my eyes. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I shook my head. How could I talk about what had happened to me with anyone here? Nobody would believe me, except Zojja, and she wasn’t here right now. “It’s just… too much for me right now.”

I sobbed, seized by a sudden hiccup. “I might lust have… lost my bearings right now, and… besides that, it just hurts everywhere", I murmured. My attempts to beat the hiccup by holding in the air made Nahraija laugh.

She went back to unraveling my hair and then rubbing something into it. Judging by its scent, I knew it must have been some sort of soap. I washed the dirt off my body and then brushed it from my clothes, which we would later hang up to dry by the fire.

As soon as my hair was reasonably acceptable again and I finally felt clean for the first time in a week, we got out of the warm pool and Nahraija handed me a piece of cloth to dry myself as best I could. Then I slipped into my shoes and wrapped the coat around my shoulders. By now it was so dark that nobody would notice that there were no clothes underneath the cloak anyway.

 _And what if_.

_They’re Norn, and they’re all too drunk to remember what they’ve seen tonight into the next morning._

I decided to go to bed right away, so I could be as rested as possible for tomorrow’s training.

The next morning surprised me by the fact that I wasn’t thrown out of bed by Narru.

Instead, I woke up as the first rays of sunlight lit the tarpaulin above me, and I quickly realized that no one but me was inside this tent anymore. Nahraija’s bed next to mine had been neatly rolled up, and outside I heard her laughing with one of the Norn.

The Norn would pack up their camp the next day and return to Hoelbrak, though they had originally wanted to retire much earlier. But Aidan insisted on waiting for the Norn named Halla, who was supposed to have returned from her hunt the day before. Aidan instructed us to make a detour east on our way back, so we could search for her to make sure nothing happened to the woman.

I quickly slipped into my clothes and pushed the tent flap aside to look up at the bright blue sky. For multiple days there hadn’t been any new snow, and even the icy wind didn’t blow quite as strong today.

 _Maybe a good sign_.

Narru was sitting by the campfire with Aiden, beckoning me over when she became aware of me. “Szallejh, I have something very special planned for today’s training. I won’t fight you today, but Aidan will.”

Her meaningful gaze fell on the Norn sitting next to her, and my stomach tightened in view of the strong muscles covering his arms that were as thick as his head. But because of the many fights I had previously with Narru, I had also become stronger. The soreness of my body was barely noticeable today.

I knew Narru was counting on my newly gained abilities if she was going to let me fight against this Norn.

After breakfast, we went to our small practice area which looked as though there had been a huge battle going on. Since there hadn’t been any fresh snow falling onto it, the ground was still strewn with blood, dirt and churned up bits of snow. This time, not only Nahraija but Aidan also followed us. After we crossed the stream, I stripped off my coat and dropped it onto a cleared stone. The cold was biting into my skin, but I knew I would get warm soon enough.

“Today is the last day of our training and I have to admit that you didn’t disappoint me", Narru announced. "At first I thought you’d never have the slightest chance of becoming a warrior, but you have shown much potential. And if you keep on track and keep practicing, one day you may even be good at what you’re doing.”

_Thank you very much for these uplifting words, mum._

“And because of this potential, I think you’re ready for the next step. You've fought against me enough, so now is the time to get some variety. Aidan is a terrific fighter, and he won’t hold back, that’s for sure. Good luck.”

Narru nodded towards me and then made the way clear for Aidan, who approached me with a huge smile while cracking the joints in his hand. He was at least four times my height, and I had to tilt my head back to face him.

“So, little mouse. Show me what you’ve got!” Aidan said before laughing and throwing his head backwards. Then he roared deafeningly loud and cramped his entire body.

What I saw created shivers throughout my body, and my ears ached from the roar. But I couldn’t believe what I saw as Aidan slowly transformed from the huge Norn into an even bigger bear right in front of my eyes. I stared in astonishment at the furry animal now standing upright in front of me, its teeth bared teeth and extremely sharp claws flexing.

“That’s his animal form! Every Norn has one, according to his totem!” Nahraija called out cheerfully as she eagerly waited for the fight.

Aidan – if the thing in front of me could even be called like that – roared again, but this time the last of his humanity had disappeared out of his voice before he charged at me. In a flash, he let himself fall forward and dumped down his claws.

I had no choice but to back down and hold the hammer protectively in front of my face. The bear continued to urge me backwards until I suddenly felt the cold stone of the wall behind my back. Cold panic went through my body.

_The vulnerability. Find his weak spot!_

I noticed that the bear stood in front of me with his legs apart, and ready to put his claws down for the next strike. While between his legs, there was a huge enough hap that I could easily push myself through thanks to my size. With an outcry, I rolled forward and between the bear’s hind legs. I swung my hammer against one of his gigantic, fur-coated thighs.

The bear roared in pain and turned to face me, but I had quickly risen to my feet and backed away from my opponent. My breath was heavy, and the blood throbbed in my ears as I strained to find a way to defeat Aidan.

 _His claws are sharp, but his back is completely unprotected!_ That was it, I just had to get him to turn his back on me once more.

For a while I tripped around him, avoiding his attacks as best as I could while trying to get to his backside, but he was too fast and never would let me out of sight.

Instead, he kept pounding on me with his huge paws, showing no sign of fatigue. He caught me a couple of times which was with enough force to leave behind some blood welts on my body.

Finally, I had him far enough that he made a massive punch with both paws, emitting a huge roar. He noticed too little and too late that I was positioned between his legs again. With all the strength that I could bring up, I thrust the hammer onto his back. The bear fell to the ground, and even before he touched the ground, he had returned back to his previous form.

But I had grossly underestimated Aidan because for him, the fight was still far from over.

With a pained look on his face, he turned around and with his muscled arms, hurled me against the rock so hard that the world briefly blacked out in front of my eyes. My weapon dropped from my limp hand while I was panting and spitting, and Aidan lifted me with one hand and pressed me so hard against the rock that I could barely breathe. Fidgeting helplessly, I hung there like a stranded fish, desperately trying to fill my lungs with much needed air as my vision darkened.

“That’s enough!" Narru’s voice echoed from the stone, and instantly the grip loosened and I rudely plopped down on the floor on my bottom.

Gasping, I rubbed my aching neck, glad for every single breath I could take.

Narru took my hand and pulled me to my feet, and I saw that she was actually smiling.

“That was very good. To recognize the back of the bear as a weak spot… you learn fast", she said. "And hopefully now you’ve learned that you should never become cocky just because an opponent is on the ground!”

She clapped her hands with finality. “It’s nearly noon, I think we’re done here. If we still want to search for Halla, it probably would be better if we start today. Otherwise we won’t get to Rata Sum in time.”

Aidan stretched himself and made a loud growl. “I hope you’ll succeed in your search! It doesn’t fit Halla to stay away for that long, even when it comes to a white bear. If you find her, please tell her to return to Hoelbrak as soon as possible. I’ll wait for her there with the best beer I can find!”

We packed our few belongings and took one last meal together with the norn before our little squad started moving again. I was glad to have come through my training reasonably well, even if I walked away with a few new scars and would need to buy some fresh clothes.

This time we didn’t make our way over the peaks, but rather we kept to the east of the signal-bristled path which was besieged here and there by wolves and ettins.

“Who keeps these fires intact when the path is always full of enemies?” I asked Narru after we had crept around a group of Ettins that were taking a deer apart.

“Vigil troops regularly eliminate all the vermin that occupies the streets, and they kindle the fires for the wanderers. But these beasts keep coming back. And the Vigil can’t spare enough people to set up proper patrols.”

We went farther and farther away from the beacons until we reached the entrance to a ravine where Halla Eldarsdottir had last been seen. Footprints still testified that a group of Norn had run into this ravine, but there were no traces out of it. A queasy feeling spread throughout my body as we entered the gorge.

Narru walked forward with a drawn bow and I with my hammer held tightly. Nahraija remained on standby and was ready to assist us with her spells at any time.

We followed the footprints deeper and deeper into the dark, until suddenly there were clear signs of fighting on the ground. In the midst of the trampled snow, I could see traces of both red and green blood.

Halla’s hunting party had seemed to have crossed Ettins while they were searching for the bear. But although a fight had definitely taken place here, there were no corpses to be seen. Only the green traces of sanding marks and the paw prints of a large animal, which had probably found the Ettins to be a quite good fodder for it.

Its tracks disappeared into a cave that was so black I couldn’t even see the entrance. I definitely wanted to get out of here, but I knew that as long as there were no corpses, that meant there was still hope we could find Halla in there alive.

The footprints led us deeper in the gorge, and the unwholesome feeling within me became stronger. I had to continually turn around as I felt myself being watched by someone.

Or something.

But I couldn’t see anything in the growing darkness, so I continued to stumble along the ground with Narru and Nahraija. My thoughts were broken when she suddenly uttered a strangled cry.

At the same moment, I also recognized the two bodies before us, laying beneath the stone wall in an unhealthy looking pose. They were completely tattered, and the blood in their bodies had frozen a long time ago. Nevertheless, one could still clearly see that these were male Norn, so there was still no trace of Halls Eldarsdottir.

Narru stiffened; she didn’t need to say what we all thought. This didn’t bode well for Halla's fate.

Now on the run, we followed the trail. But there only were Halla’s footprints left, and the ground became more and more drenched in blood the deeper we got. She could never be alive after so much blood loss! And who had done this to them? Had it been the bear they were hunting?

A short time later we got our answer. At the end of the gorge, the two Norn were waiting for us, but they had absolutely nothing in common with the Norn that I had met so far. Their flesh was replaced by a blue glowing ice, and their eyes were just white soulless bulbs. There was no life left inside of them, and they seemed to be controlled by a foreign power, like marionettes.

Behind them stood Halla, or rather what was left of her. Her skin hung in tatters, and where bloody tissue should have been, was instead a layer of thick blue glowing ice forming around the previous muscle. Halla’s eyes had already lost all life, and the woman once owning the body had long since died.

I retched at the sight of her, glad I hadn’t eaten much that day. I wanted to run away screaming so I could get away from this nightmare creature, and involuntarily I took a step back.

“What are these beings!?” Nahraija shouted out in terror, and even Narru seemed to have never seen such a defaced Norn before. Completely horrified, she stared at the Norn that had probably been her comrade once, anger and disbelief on her face.

“Icebrood… these are the servants of Jormag. And they made Halla one of their own", Narru answered.

My grip on the hammer tightened as the Icebrood norn faced us for the upcoming battle.

“Jormag’s influence so far from the Far Shiverpeaks? That’s not possible! Halla… oh, they’ll pay for what they did to you!” Narru shouted out in anger, sending one arrow after another into the Norn closest to her until he didn’t move anymore.

Nahraija’s hand had begun to glow red, and she was throwing fireballs at the other norn with her scepter which made him scream out in pain.

His voice was inhumane, and it sounded like breaking ice. But the fire was not enough. As he made himself ready to swing a gigantic, ice-covered greatsword, I intervened and punched him with my hammer, a huge blow to his hands. The action broke his palm into several ice shards, and his weapon fell to the ground uselessly. Another blow to the skull finally brought him to a standstill, and Nahraija could concentrate on covering the rotten Halla with her fireballs.

It was Narru who drove an arrow between the eyes of the Norn and ended her puppet-like existence. She knelt down and put a hand on the Norn’s chest. “May the raven accompany you on your journey and cleanse your soul. Nahraija, burn the bodies.”

Then she got up and motioned for us to follow her out of the gorge.

Standing at the exit, I could make out something in the dark that looked like a white bear, but the creature was too deterred by Nahraija’s flames that it disappeared into the cave before I could take another look at it.

After we had brought a bit of space between us and the gorge, Narru turned to us in an icy voice. “You have to start the way back alone. I’ll go to Hoelbrak and tell Aidan about Halla’s death. They need to know how far Jormag’s claws have already reached, and that Zhaitan is no longer the only great threat that Tyria must face. Go to the United Arcanist’s laboratory and wait for me there.”

Nahraija nodded, then Narru looked into my eyes and put her hand onto my shoulder. “You deserve to call yourself my daughter. Go now, and avoid the enemies. Follow the path, the signal beacons will guide you well at night. Don’t stop until you arrive at the lab. I’ll come to you soon.”

Narru turned around and ran in the direction of the Norn camp.

Nahraija and I got underway again, but none of us spoke a word. Too cruel was what we had been forced to watch in the gorge, and everyone was too caught in their own thoughts.

Fortunately the road was safe from here on, and as Narru had ordered, we didn’t take any more breaks. The pain in my legs was omnipresent, and fatigue became more and more widespread.

But the thought of the lab where not only solid walls stood, but also a decent bed would await me, kept me going on.

Since I didn’t know the way, I let Nahraija led me. After the last week, I had great belief in her, and once again, she didn’t disappoint me.

The moon was about to dodge the next day’s morning sun as we left the dense forest. And a short while later when we were both completely exhausted and tired, we stumbled across the crater-lined beach to the lab.

The very same of which I had fought against a horde of Krait together with the Krewe a week ago.


	7. Brothers and Sisters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “That’s… exactly what it felt like.” I muttered, covering my face with my hands. A strong headache started to seize me and I closed my eyes, hoping to beat the pain with this.

_I’m going to die._ The thought is spinning around in my head, over and over, getting louder and louder each time my inner voice screams it out, until at some point it grows into a painful cry. This will be my end.

I can’t see anything, even though I’ve opened my eyes, there’s only blackness around me. Only occasionally flashes of light that seem familiar to me in some way flare around me, even if I can’t figure out where I know them from. They hurt my eyes, and yet I can’t do anything against it.

Helplessly I’m standing there in the blackness, breathing heavily and frantically hitting my arms around me, but there is nothing that could resist my touch. I hear screams, painful and desperate, so loud and penetrating that the source must be very close – is that me, screaming?

My feet are cold as ice. I feel water flowing around them, so cold that it resembles thousands of small needles sticking into my flesh all at once. No clothes protect me, completely naked; I am at the mercy of the dark threat, which rises from second to second, wrapping more and more of my body into the freezing cold and ramming even more needles into my skin.

How did I get here? What have I done to deserve such a cruel end of my life?

Once again, there is panic growing inside of me, stronger than before. The flashes of light are increasing, and yet I can’t see any of my surroundings. I keep my hands on my ears, why can’t someone make these cries stop at least!?

The water has already reached my stomach. _I don’t want to die!_ A jolt drives through my body, my limbs are finally moving. There must be a way out; somehow I have to get out of the water!

Step by step I wade through the cold fluid, which is still rising higher with each breath that I take. The ground on which I walk feels soft, somehow unnatural, it pulsates with heat. But no matter how far I walk, I feel no change. Whatever is under my feet remains level, and walking is becoming increasingly difficult, as the thousands of needles and the freezing cold begin to cover every part of me with a numb feeling.

Suddenly the flashing light stops. Does it, though? Or is it just me, closing my eyes? Hard to say in this dark, but I force myself several times to open and squeeze my eyes. In fact, there is only complete darkness around me! But that doesn’t help me, since the water is now bathing my chin, and second after second I can feel it covering more of my face. _I won’t be able to breathe anymore!_ I struggle with my arms in frantic movements, trying to swim to the surface to get some air at least, but in vain. The ground doesn’t make place and the water keeps rising higher, as if something would make me stick to ground, still allowing me to move freely without loosening my feet from the hot pulsing mass.

My mouth fills with a disgusting taste, like rotting water that has been standing in the heat for far too long. The lips pressed together as tight as possible, I try to breathe through my nose, but soon no air gets into my lungs, but only cold, rotten liquid.

I scream all the air out of my lungs that my body could still hold, but no sound reaches my ears anymore. Gravity overwhelms me, presses me to the ground, forcing my face against the soft, warm something. Desperately, my lungs scream for oxygen, my whole body is burning, but with every breath I fail to take, only more and more water enters my lungs. I try to cough, but the only thing that happens is that my chest explodes with a tremendous pain. _That’s it. I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die._

Like a mantra, these words are the only thing that I can focus on as my senses weaken gradually. Although I’m inside the water, I know that tears are streaming down my cheeks and mingling with the surroundings, as I can feel their salty taste inside my mouth.

Everything fades, even the pain in the end, only the freezing cold stays and just doesn’t want to give way.

_I don’t want to die! Oh, if I just would have been able to stay in my world…_

**“Szallejh!”**

A loud voice breaks through the wall which held me captive, and with a jerk, the water disappeared around me. Coughing and spitting, I tried to pump as much air into my exhausted lungs as possible, no matter how painful each breath was. _I’m alive. I’m alive!_

As my body calmed down and my senses were slowly coming back to me, I began to feel my surroundings again. Below me were cold stone tiles, wet with the tears that still streamed down my cheeks, and I myself was on all fours next to a completely rumpled hammock, clad only in a nightgown and still coughing like a madman, while every movement was like a fireball shooting through my body.

A warm hand touched my shoulder, but even its touch burned like fire, and I groaned involuntarily.

“Shhh, it’s all good. It’s all good, you’ve had a bad dream.” I knew the voice that spoke to me. The figure of a sylvari appeared in my visual field and knelt in front of me so I could look at her. Purple bark and loafed clothes… _Nahraija._

At last I regained my normal breathing ability and as the coughing sensation subsided, I leaned my back against the wall, which suddenly felt pleasantly cold. I closed my eyes and stifled the last sob.

“A dream!?” I rattled hard, my voice sounding like I hadn’t used it for decades. “Oh no, that was not a dream. It felt too real for that. I almost drowned…” Tears welled up in my eyes again and my upper body was shaken by violent sobs.

Nahraija dabbed my sweaty forehead with a piece of cloth. “I believe you. You screamed like a banshee, and when I came to look after you, I found you lying on the floor, wildly dealing out blows to left and right, gasping for breath, as if you were about to suffocate… By the pale tree, what was going on with you?”

“That’s… exactly what it felt like.” I muttered, covering my face with my hands. A strong headache started to seize me and I closed my eyes, hoping to beat the pain with this.

“I… I was trapped in a kind of space I couldn’t escape from, and… and water kept rising until I couldn’t breathe, and…”

My voice broke. I forced myself to inhale and exhale deeply and soothe myself. Gradually, I succeeded, and when I was reasonably convinced that the headache wouldn’t get any worse, I carefully opened my eyes. Nahraija was still staring at me with a concerned look, but when she realized that I was feeling better, she helped me get up to my feet. Dangling dangerously, I allowed myself to hold on to her for a while longer, while she was watching me with an intense glance.

“You look like you could use some more sleep. We arrived here just over three hours ago, so you can lie down a bit more if you want to.” She meant it well, I knew that, but her words made me feel ice cold again.

“Just to risk that this terrible dream will come back? Never! Besides, I wouldn’t be able to find any peace of mind anyway. Not after _that_. I think… A hot shower would be a good thing now.”

Nahraija nodded. “Meanwhile, I’ll see if I can get you something decent to wear.” Her gaze fell on the plain undershirt I wore, and then to the bundle of ragged and dirty clothes that had been carelessly thrown to the floor.

I grunted in agreement, then stumbled out of the room, letting Nahraija open the door for me. Walking had never seemed so difficult to me, I slowly put one foot in front of the other, careful not to stumble over my own toes, and more than once I nudged my claws painfully over the cold stone floor. Suddenly the running seemed incredibly complicated, the outward-pointing tows seemed to follow their own will and constantly bent downwards, and I wished for my dainty human feet. In general, I longed for so much that I would never have the luck of enjoying in my life again. My hot shower that allowed me to stand under the water as long as I wanted (maybe the PeDACUR hat an option to extend the cleansing program, but with a pragmatic race like the asura, that was unlikely to happen). Or a clock, because I had never learned to set the time just by looking at the sun’s position, and certainly I couldn’t say from the gut where north was. I wanted to lie in my cuddly bed until noon, without pain, without worrying about my room being overrun by krait.

I opened the next door with a sigh, behind which lay the laboratory washing room. It was small and didn’t show much luxury, but at least I could take a shower. That would push my day forward already a quite good bit. As I passed, I threw a glance into the mirror hanging on the wall – and at once wished that I hadn’t. I’d never looked so awful in my life, neither asuran nor human. My hair was disheveled and dull, the week in the norn camp hadn’t been filled with that much body care, and there were strands of hair standing in all directions as if they were loaded with electricity. My body was strewn with bruises, cuts and bumps, and my eyes were adorned with enormous blue-black rings, the origins of which had been fairly certain the precious night.

Shaking my head, I adverted my eyes and threw my undershirt carelessly on the floor. _Did I lock the door?_ Who should come in anyway; except of Nahraija, everyone was already busy with their work, as I could hear from the curses coming from the down floor. Shuddering because it was a bit cooler than expected, I stalked into the cabin, which opened with a soft hiss and closed again as soon as I had entered.

After I started the process and pleasantly warm water washed away the bitter taste of the previous night, I closed my eyes and imagined what it would be like to be somewhere else. _At home in my shower, then on my way to work, a normal day…_

But the rush of arcane energy that followed the water dragged me back to the present. _Here I am, in a swamp of monsters, tired, battered, just waiting for someone to attack this lab again._ Sighing, I left the cabin, dried off the still damp areas with a towel and rinsed out my mouth in addition. I definitely had to ask Zojja how asura practiced oral hygiene… A pruned twig had served well the last few days, but surely there was something more suitable than a piece of wood.

On a shelf, I found vials of different colored contents and appliances reminiscent of toothbrushes, but I didn’t want to use any of them, not until I knew what mouths they had been in.

A hesitant knock made me cry out softly and stumble back a few steps, bumping my toe again painfully. Panicking slightly, I held the towel to my chest, even though there wasn’t much to see, and watched with a wild beating heart as the door slowly opened, and a dark pile of leaves appeared, followed by a purple head. _Nahraija._

Relieved, I let the towel sink to the navel and tied it sporadically around my waist. The sylvari closed the door behind her and held out a stack of clothes that didn’t really match.

“Here, Kamma gave these to me… She said some of them might be a little too big, but that’s still better than those ripped clothes of yours, isn’t it?”

I thankfully took the clothes after slipping into my underwear. The shirt was a bit loose and the pants could have been shorter, but they did their job and would certainly last until I was back in my room in Rata Sum. Preferably, I’d have started the travel right now without hesitation! But we had to wait for Narru’s return, and who knew what else awaited us here…

I slowly span around in front of Nahraija. “Well, how do I look?”

The sylvari smiled. “You somehow remind me of a colorful bird. If you want to catch attention, you have reached your goal.” The first time for this day, I burst into laughter and for a brief moment all misery was forgotten. I would have liked to pat my companion on her shoulder, but I kept my hands where they were, since I wouldn’t have gotten higher than her stomach anyway.

“Kamma also said that you can keep the clothes, if you want. Said she doesn’t need them anymore.” Nahraija added, and we headed back to the bedroom so I could get the rest of my belongings. And hopefully I wouldn’t hurt my toes everywhere now. “I’m not surprised she doesn’t want to keep them, regarding that look!”

“Well, I think they’re beautiful. For my part, I like everything colorful. Only a few loops here and there…”

“Don’t you dare!”

After eating a late breakfast and telling the crewe members details of the last few days, Nahraija and I sat outside on the stairs of the lab to take a breath and let the warm late spring sun warm us. The swamp stench was omnipresent, but I was able to hide it far enough so at least it wouldn’t make me choke anymore.

“When do you think Narru will come back?” I mumbled after we had been silent for a while.

“According to her, she should be arriving soon. Maybe she made a break in Hoelbrak, who knows? Don’t worry, she’s a warmaster. She’ll be fine.”

“I’m not worried. I just want to go home…” I tiredly rested my chin on my knees and wrapped my arms around my legs. The coast was calm, all the remains of the pyres had been removed, and somebody had even bothered to level the floor around the lab so at least the largest craters had disappeared. In the distance, some crewe members were buzzing around a whirring, enormous device that reminded me of binoculars, and probably it was the megalaser Narru and Zojja had spoken of. In addition to the asura, I could still see other shapes, bigger and heavier, as they waddled through the area like giant frogs on two legs. I squinted because of the sun to get a better view, but what I saw proved my suspicion right: half a dozen frogs were working with the asura on the megalaser and on some smaller implements I couldn’t see correctly from here.

“What are the Hylek doing here at the swamp?” I asked softly without taking my eyes off.

“They live here in the swamps,” smiled Nahraija, sounding as surprised as if I had just asked why fish didn’t float in the air.

“When the United Arcanists built their lab here, it was a chance for the hylek to make allies in the fight against Krait and Undead terrorizing the shores. And the asura could simultaneously explore the lifestyle of the local hylek.”

“Positive results for both sides. But how did you know that?”

“Why did you ask, if you thought I wouldn’t know the answer?” Nahraija laughed. “We Sylvari are anxious to learn as much as possible about the world and its inhabitants, and the knowledge one sylvari has gained throughout their life is given to the other unborn children in the dream when they die.”

I muttered something incomprehensive and continued to watch as one of the hylek broke away from the group and slowly waddled towards us. Occasionally, his incredibly long tongue shot up to catch a fly, and his scaly, slimy yellow body was covered in places by a simple plate armor.

As he reached the stairs, he gave a friendly greeting in his inhuman, quacking voice, examining us curiously with gigantic brown eyes, especially me. “Are you new to our little friends?” Then his gaze went to the sylvari, “and you, are you coming from the plant people behind Chokevine gorge?”

Nahraija grinned and shook her head. “We’re just passing through, my friend and I.” _Friend, well, well!_ “This is Szallejh, and I am Nahraija.”

The hylek smiled as well, baring his huge mouth into which he could have stuck me completely. “My name is Utoctacel. Glad to make your acquaintance!” As he spoke, he made soft quacking noises and blew his cheeks, and the sight was so funny that I had to bite my tongue so as not to giggle. Nahraija thrust her elbow between my ribs, but a quick glance confirmed that she too could not resist a grin. Utoctacel didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he didn’t care, for his countenance remained friendly as he sat down beside the sylvari on the stone steps and stretched his slimy face into the sun.

“What brings two such young things as you to such a dreadful place like the Splintered Coast?” Asked the hylek after a while, and again grabbed one of the flies that had dared coming near us.

“I paid a visit to Warmaster Narru… to my mother… and together we spent several days in the Shiverpeaks. Well, and Nahraija came across the way while we headed there.”

“Quite accidentally, of course.” Nahraija added with a chuckle, then she returned the question to Utoctacel. His eyes were lost in the distance, and a sad shadow settled on his features. “This area hasn’t always been this way, you know? Our elders tell us stories about our country before it overflowed with corruption. I hope I live long enough to live the day when everything will be like those times again.” He sighed. “But we have to become active ourselves, it’s not enough to watch inactively and wait for everything bad to suddenly disappear from this world. We…”

A grumpy asura, whose name I didn’t know, interrupted the conversation as he loaded down with a huge box down the stairs and nearly stumbled over us.

“Away from there, you’re in my way! Unfavorable pack, make yourself useful or disappear before accidents happen here because of you!” He bumped hard into the sylvari with his chest, and Nahraija softly cried out in pain, but he ignored her and Utoctacel, who was grumbling things to himself in a for me incomprehensible language, which were no complements for sure.

Shaking our heads, we walked to the edge of the stone steps, into the cool shadow of the building, which was very welcomed after the time in the blazing sun.

“Asura, the epitome of friendliness.” Chuckled the sylvari and immediately gave me an apologizing look as I tried to protest. “I’m sorry, but those are facts. Of course there are exceptions like you, but you can’t deny that most asura look at everything that is not their own reflection with complete condescension.”

Utoctacel laughed out loud as I mumbled my head back on my knees and frantically wondered what I could answer to that. But the sylvari was right; unfortunately, it was one of the main characteristics of asura to praise them boundlessly in the sky and treat everything else as filth. If I thought about it, I really had made positive experiences with my peers so far; my whole story could have been different if I had gotten the wrong people on my first day.

“So, where was I?” The hylek stretched for a moment and made a very loud quack before continuing. “I want to see this land live and blossom again! But we have to fight together for that. All of us, not just the hylek. That’s why we’re here with our little friends and many of us have moved with the big fleet to kill the undead dragon. Because Tyria suffers, and what our country least needs are its inhabitants being at war against each other. We’re all brothers and sisters after all, aren’t we? And as such, we should hold together, not beat each other’s heads in front of the eyes of our real enemies. Only if the people of Tyria manage to work together can we win.”

Nahraija thoughtfully stared at the ceiling above our heads. “Do you really think we can do something like that? Every race has enemies in their inner ranks… Nightmare Court, Inquest, Flame Legion… Not to mention the wars between the races. The creation of the Pact was a good start, but how can we manage to overcome even the tiniest conflicts that sustain hatred? Even recently there have been incidents of conflict between charr and humans within the Pact. How should such a diverse community last forever?”

Utoctacel silently rocked his head. “That, my little plant friend, I cannot say. But as long as the sun shines in the sky, I believe that the day will come. The day our country will be free.”

After a long silence, the hylek rose, brushing nonexistent dust off his thighs, shielding his eyes against the sun to better see off in the distance.

“Well, my friends, it’s time for me to go. Quaztocel is still waiting for a box, which I am supposed to bring him. Good luck on your further journey, and always remember my words. To win, we all have to work together!”

He smiled his broad frog grin again, then hurried up the stone steps to return shortly afterwards with a wooden box whose contents shone in a variety of colors. I looked after him until I could barely distinguish him from the surroundings, then I also got up to find a meaningful job for the day.

We had just has lunch and headed out to clean outdated energy cores with smelly green pumice when finally Narru’s familiar figure became visible on the horizon. I lowered my sponge and thrust the energy core into Nahraija’s hands, glad to no longer have this stuff on my skin, and rose to meet Narru. She looked completely exhausted with a dark shadow on her face and I feared that she might fall over at any moment, but otherwise she seemed uninjured.

“Szallejh!” She called out when she recognized me, and patted me on the shoulder as a greeting. “I’m glad you made it here. I have been held up in Hoelbrak longer than I expected. Knut Whitebear was worried about Jormag’s servants already being so far from the dragon’s center of power. And Halla’s death was unexpected for some, so precautions had to be taken, and –“

“Alright,” I interrupted, “we held the position here. You haven’t missed anything.” _Except for a damn realistic nightmare and that nasty stuff that my fingers will smell off probably for a while longer._

“Well then. Come to my study room in half an hour, I want to talk to you in private.”

She didn’t give me an answer to my confused look; instead, Narru passed me without further reaction and disappeared into the shadow of the lab. After last night, I could imagine how exhausted she had to be, even if I didn’t really know what matters there were to discuss.

Shrugging, I returned to Nahraija, who had engaged the two asura next to her in a conversation about making chocolate bars, and resumed my work on the energy cores. _Only this half hour, then I will never touch that stuff again. And think twice about whether I offer my help or not._

After half an hour, or at least I thought that about half an hour should be over, I hurried to Narru’s study. She seemed to be quite good to talk to today, but I didn’t want to destroy that with my tardiness.

I raised my hand to knock, but just before my fist touched the wood, the door was torn open and I almost hit Narru’s nose. Unimpressed by my fist, which I quickly pulled back, Narru looked at me with raised brows. “Just in time. I thought I’d have to pick you up.” Which wouldn’t have gone too well. “Come in, sit down.”

For a while, Narru stared at me in silence, as if she didn’t really know how to begin. Finally she ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. “Well… I was in Hoelbrak and told Halla’s relatives about her demise. May her skalds still sing songs of her victories for a long time. However, the head of Hoelbrak, Knut Whitebear, was not thrilled that Jormag’s servants have penetrated so deep into the land of Tyria. So far, we thought Zhaitan was the only thread, but the other dragons are also growing in their power dangerously fast… Too fast. But I have at least one good news. Aidan seemed quite taken with you, and he agreed to take over your training.”

Confused by this revelation, I almost choked on my own saliva and had to cough a few times before I could respond.

“Please what, training!? I thought our training was complete! You said you are happy with…”

“Oh please, that’s just what you say to give the kids a little feeling of success! You may be able to prove yourself against an unarmed Grawl, but there’s still a lot missing for the war against the dragons.”

Anger rose inside of me. One day ago, she had said that I earned her pride, and now suddenly I was a worthless person again? I snorted. “Oh yes? And the fight against Aidan was all a show, right? Am I now to weak for you to be trained by yourself, so you just hand me over like an annoying student?” I suppressed the need to jump up and to poke something into her head, but the tears of anger that welled up in my eyes couldn’t be prevented.

Narru sighed again and raised her hand as if she wanted to put it on my arm soothingly, but after a moment’s consideration she let it be, whatever had come to her mind.

“Your actions are far too impulsive. After all, that makes your story more believable that you grew up under norn… But you misunderstand me. You fought well against Aidan, one more reason why he likes to take on the training. But there is so much more you need to know for being a warrior. You need stamina, strength, experience, you have to deal with emergencies, and be able to survive out there for a while. You need to know how to deal with wounds, if there’s no healer nearby, you need to know which enemies you are going to face and which you prefer to avoid. All those things can’t be learned within a single week. And on top of that you need proper armor! You can’t handle a fight in those rags, at least not without having to buy completely new clothes every time. Besides…” She seemed unsure if she really should complete the sentence. “Besides, you’re not my student, but I have accepted you as my daughter. And you can’t just leave your kids like a student, even if you wanted to.”

I snorted again. “ _You_ could do that. You have not confirmed anything to the Council yet, you can always back down…”

“By Oola’s ghost, I’ve given my word and I will keep it! Even if I have no idea where you came from, but you’ll surely tell me when the time’s right. And Zojja trusts you, and if you even know her the slightest, you’ll know that her trust is something only the fewest of people will get. So if Zojja believes in whatever you’re telling her, then I do too. And I have to give up on the training, not because you’re not worth my effort. But because I’m going to prepare the final strike against Tequatl here, and then my order requires me to return to the Shiverpeaks once that’s done. There would be no time for you training, but I will regularly check your progress, believe me! Therefore, Aidan will travel from Hoelbrak to Lion’s Arch weekly, and await you there. Don’t let him wait if you want to survive his training.”

I was almost ashamed of my outburst now, but I couldn’t prevent my human emotionality. After all, until about a week ago, I was nothing but a normal, sensitive human. And I wasn’t sure if would ever be able to change that and adjust myself to the asuran way of living, or if any part of me would always remain human. _Always… Have I already given up any hope of going back?_

“So, Szallejh. Surely you will return to Rata Sum soon, am I right?” I nodded. “In a few days, I’ll start a job in the Aquatarium to stay afloat financially. And then, let’s see… Maybe a crewe will take me?” Narru tried to camouflage her upcoming laugh attack as a cough, but I had already expected such a reaction. _Who would take such a stupid asura as me in his crewe anyway…_

“Aquatarium, eh? I wouldn’t eat there myself, but if the pay is good… But kid, if you’re really this focused on joining a crewe, ask Zoj… your aunt, if she’ll give you some tuition. She is extremely picky about her students; recently she took on a twelve year old tinkerer, an orphan who, with her own golem, has already cleared out most of Metrica’s predators single-handed. But I’m sure she’ll do you a favor for her sister.” She grinned, as if she didn’t believe herself what she just said.

Surely Zojja would at least consider to teach me a little bit, because the more I knew, the bigger was the reputation ( _or the less the shame_ ) that I brought her as a family member, but it wouldn’t be fun for her. Three-year old asura probably knew far more than me, and if she really taught only such geniuses… Good luck, fat chance.

“Well then, that would have been clarified. In one week, Aidan will await you on the first day of training at Macha’s Landing, do not disappoint. If necessary, ask for directions, at least you’ll find the way to Lion’s Arch on your own. It’s a breeze from there. But I still have one thing left.”

Narru got up and motioned me to do the same before rummaging around in a bag, gradually pulling out pieces that were almost certainly part of an armor.

“In Hoelbrak, I have had these made for you, as to say as a little… welcoming present in this family. I can’t offer you a helmet, since you should have it made custom in the near future. One of the crewe members, Zort, is very good at making and repairing armor. You should talk to him as soon as you have time.”

With the pieces of armor in her hands, she came up to me and helped me put them on. When I asked where she knew my size from, she just grinned.

The armor itself was surprisingly heavy when I finally had put it on completely, and I snorted under the unexpected weight. Narru instructively lifted her firefinger as she studied my crimson head. “Do you see? And that’s exactly what I meant with perseverance and strength. An armor will protect you from most damage, especially if you refine it with a few runes, but the extra weight must not put you in a competitive disadvantage. That’s why you need to train. Otherwise you’ll be heavily armored but way too slow to run away from a horde of trolls.”

She led me to a small mirror that I had never noticed before. Slowly turning, I studied my reflection in the mirror; despite the extra weight that pulled hard on me, the armor pleased me a lot. The breast protector was made of ocher-colored leather, with red metal around the chest, and embedded in the middle a bluish shimmering hexagonal gem. The shoulder pads were gilded, as well as the belt, on the left side hung red fabric almost to the ankle and right were enough buckles attached to hold all the bags in the world. The gauntlets, also red with gilded ornaments, fitted in astonishingly well with the burgundy leg gown Kamma had given me, and the shoes were made of hard brown leather with shiny toe guards and red metal bucklers. And the best: it fit perfectly!

“That’s beautiful! Narru, it must have cost you a fortune! What do I owe you for this?” Unsure if I had enough gold to repay it all, I clung to my gauntlets as if to keep them that way.

Narru shrugged. “If you have contacts in Hoelbrak like me, it’s not that hard to get cheap armor in good quality. You’ll need a better one at some point, but it’ll be enough for a start. And hopefully it will keep you away from having to buy new clothes every day. The Aquatarium certainly doesn’t pay well enough for that. And as I mentioned before, take it as a gift.”

I laughed and felt a big stone fall off from my heart. That Narru gave me such a beautiful gift meant that I hadn’t disappointed her as much as I had feared. And that she accepted me slowly but surely as what I now hat to pretend to be, as long as I hadn’t found a way home.

“Phew. Thank you… mother.” The word left my lips only slowly and very quietly for fear of ruining everything. Narru’s eyes widened, and for a moment it was obvious how much I must have had taken her by surprise. But after a few heartbeats, her mine was already unreadable again and clearing her throat, she scratched her ear. “Well, then…”

“Can you possibly help me out of the armor again?” I babbled on to break the awkward silence that had filled the room. The armor was magnificent and certainly helpful in combat, but I was not used to it and not only did the sweat run down my spine in small streams, but my arms began to ache under the unfamiliar weight.

Laughing, Narru assisted me as I awkwardly slipped out of the leather and metal, then stuffed everything together so I could grab it without losing half of it on the way.

“Okay, I’ll put all that stuff in my bag then; if possibly I’d leave tomorrow at the latest. And, err, Narru?”

“Hm?”

“Thanks.”

Narru waved goodbye to me and opened the door because I was too busy to find the handle.

“Oh, one more thing…”

Narru waited in the threshold with her brow raised, the knob still in her hand.

“If we’re a family now… Can’t we at least leave the formal address? With all this warmaster stuff? I think that’s kind of strange, or is it… Is that common…?”

Luckily, she left my ignorance of asuran speech uncommented and just smiled.

“I think we can.”

The whole lab was in turmoil; asura ran wildly around, grabbing the bare necessities and engaging each other in heated discussions. Nahraija and I were already standing in front of the stone building, our packs ready, waiting wildly for the troop to start moving.

Just now a carrier pigeon had flown in with the news that the pact had successfully defeated the first of the Elder Dragons, Zhaitan, and that on their return from Orr a victory celebration would take place in Fort Trinity. Full of anticipation to see Zojja again, and to witness this tremendous celebration myself, I padded from one foot to the other and listened to the excited asura around me.

“This victory was made possible only by the genius of the asura! First commander Tippa, then Zojja’s Megalaser. Without us, the pact would long have perished!”

“I wonder how many victims there have been…”

“Does that mean the undead will finally shun this coast?”

“What about Tequatl, is he weakened by the death of his master? Will he ever attack again?”

Finally, the last asura left the lab, and together with the hylek, who had also received the message with joy, and a few Peacemaker golems, our little troop set in motion, led by Narru and Kamma, who seemed to know exactly which way they had to lead us. They set a pace that would have been worthy of a marathon, but no one complained, because each of us eagerly wanted to arrive as soon as possible.

I was the only one who wasn’t surprised by the win against Zhaitan, but nevertheless the general euphoria tore me away. Of course, I was prepared to experience this situation through the game, but it was another sensation to actually stand between all the asura and celebrate that it indeed was possible to defeat a dragon. I knew what that meant for Tyria: an enormous ray of hope for a continent that had been suffering the dragon’s corruption for far too long.

Our way led us only briefly through the swampy coastal area, soon Narru and Kamma turned off into a tunnel that was partly flooded with water and was illuminated at regular intervals by strange, lively-looking lamps. On closer inspection, I realized that the lamps were basically just wooden scaffolding on which roundish vessels hung, filled with glowworm-like luminescent insects.

Just as the pleasant temperature of the tunnel had cooled me down somewhat, we left the darkness and landed in the middle of a sylvari camp, shielded from the enemy environment by a huge thorn wall. Only a short exchange of words was necessary, so that the sylvari joined us and tuned melodic victory songs.

The afternoon came to an end when we reached a small ravine that marked the boundary of two areas. Kamma offered to rest, but no one wanted to waste time unnecessarily, and Narru promised that if we proceeded swiftly, we could be at the Fort at sunset, possibly ahead of the pact itself.

The environment hadn’t really changed, except that the air had cooled down noticeably, as there always was a cool breeze coming from the water. Still, it kept warm enough that I was relieved to have contradicted Nahraija when she wanted me to wear the armor to demonstrate it to Zojja.

A narrow path led down a steep slope, and the horizon was filled with the view of the sea. Basically, this was just a bay, but it was so big that you couldn’t see the land behind it. But what could be discerned was the many inhabitants of Tyria, who cavorted in this path and all had the same goal: Fort Trinity. Suddenly every dispute seemed forgotten, Charr walked alongside humans, even talking to each other in a friendly tone; sylvari and asura exchanged words without even mentioning the dark events from the past.

While our pace seemed to be accelerating still, it was Nahraija who kept the conversation going, putting her excitement into words and telling me exactly why that day meant so much to her. I snatched up terms like “love”, “wyld hunt”, and “happy future”, but most of what she said went past me, since I was too focused now on the view between the rugged area and huge trees that certainly were hundreds of years old.

The evening sky shone like liquid fire, and a beautiful moon rose behind what was probably the Fort Trinity. An incredibly huge complex, with walls of metal, and the gates provided with gears whose size were even four times that of a norn. A blue-glowing cube shimmered over everything, and similarly blue-luminescent lights adorned the bath in front of the fort. As impregnable as it looked, the doors were wide open and from inside came loud noises of celebration and victory. When we passed the gate, I had to swallow, because among these gears, which were wider than I was long, I definitely didn’t want to stand in between when they were being closed. Quickly I crossed the threshold and glances at what lay behind the tons of steel.

The interior of the facility was too much for me to assimilate in this moment, because everywhere stood inhabitants of Tyria, cheered, celebrated and told stories to each other. To the right of me stretched a heavily armored harbor, on which were various types of ships, and ahead of us a ramp extended towards another heavily guarded forecourt. I had long since lost sight of Narru, and I was completely convinced that I’d lose my bearings in no time at all if left alone, so I attached myself to Nahraija’s verse and was led by her. She seemed to be pulled by an inner urge, ran through the crowd, ignoring the ones she knocked over. I got an answer to this unusual behavior of my friend when we passed several more gates and ramps and came to stand on a copper dome with blue-green glass. Here the crowd was the most dense and from the sky gently fell bright and colorful confetti.

Where the dome was highest, the heroes of Tyria stood in a circle: Logan Thackeray, the man so immortally in love with his barefoot queen, next to him Eir Stegalkin, legendary Norn warrior with her formidable wolf Garm, and Rytlock Brimstone, Charr tribune of the Blood Legion. Behind him stood Zojja, with a huge grin on her face, since it was her Megalaser that made up most of the victory, and Caithe, Sylvari thief and one of the firstborn. They formed the former Edge of Destiny, whose first attempt to defeat the Elder Dragon Kralkatorrik had failed miserably and resulted in Snaff’s death, so much did I know. In the middle of the circle stood s amall, dark-skinned asura with thick black curls and round ears that reminded more of skritt than of asura, whose face I had never seen before, but I knew her name from the crewe’s stories: Pact Commander Tippa.

Nahraija, however, had eyes only for one: a green dressed sylvari, who kept himself in the background rather shyly. Trahearne. _How strange to see them all so close – and so realistic! – in front of me…_ In the game it had always been a matter of course, I knew the faces, knew their voices. Now, however, they seemed completely alien to me, only in those moments did I realize how strange the sylvari actually looked with their bark-like skin and how scary such a charr could actually be if he stood on his hind legs raising above your head. The sounds and smells were not at all what I had expected; in the air was a strange mixture of fragrant flowers, sweat and wet animal, all in all, not necessarily unpleasant, but yet very unfamiliar. So many voices mingled in my ears; the squeaky, arrogant voices from the asura; sylvari, whose sound was similar to humans, but had something indescribably fluid and melodic, and so many, many more.

As soon as Trahearne became aware of the sylvari, he lost all his insecurity and hurried towards her with his arms open, lifting her and hugging her close. At that moment, I realized why Nahraija had been so nervous when she had learned of the Pact’s victory, and why she could hardly wait to arrive here. With a warm feeling in my heart, I watched them for a while, ignored the thought of what Trahearne would probably had to face in the near future, and was just happy that in this time of suffering and feat, there still existed such a thing as love.

But then suddenly Zojja stood in front of me, blocking the view of my friend, and without further thinking I pulled my aunt in a tight embrace. She stiffened, but she didn’t push me away, and that gave me affection, for at that moment I was filled with adrenaline and happiness hormones.

“Zojja! I’m glad you’re alright.”

Eventually, Zojja broke loose from my embrace, wiping off invisible dust of her knees, cleared her throat and stood in front of me with folded arms.

“Believe me, dear, a genius like me doesn’t get shot down that fast. I have to tell you more about the Megalaser later. My invention, as you surely know, and it has brought us a fair way further, pah!”

“I know,” I laughed, “I heard nothing but stories about your awesome Megalaser! But what about you, are you alright?”

Zojja snorted. “I’m fine, don’t you worry! You feel fresher than ever after killing an Elder dragon.” The shrill, arrogant undertone in her voice was balmy for my ears right now, and I willingly let her head us a little further, where the crowd stood not that tight.

“Remind me to introduce you to the commander later. You’ll like Tippa, I’m sure. She is just as emotionally inclined as you, in fact you’d both have provided very good norn… But now let’s just celebrate a little!” She eagerly ordered two pitchers with something weirdly sweet, which certainly contained as much alcohol as sugar. A soft voice on my head told me not to overdo it with the alcohol, but I didn’t pay much attention to it; after all, this was a celebration, and celebrating included having a drink with the others.

“Is it not a silly thing for a genius like you to get drunk? I mean, because alcohol kills brain cells and all this…”

“Pah! The thinking capacity in my brain is enough for whole Hoelbrak! One or two cells less are doing nothing. Now let’s drink on Zojja’s brilliant Megalaser!”

We had just started when Nahraija and Trahearne joined us together with a third person whom I did not recognize at first. But finally, I managed to assign this asura with brown curls and equally brown eyes, which grinned at Zojja and me (especially me!) with a crooked grin. “Hello, Bromm! Nice to see you.” Zojja laughed between two sips of the stuff that I had now identified as Omnomberry-booze. _Bromm, right! The one who can cook so well!_

“Right, that’s me.” He laughed and also ordered something to drink, while I put my hand on my forehead because I had spoken out loud again.

“How come I haven’t seen you in the recent days?”

Embarrassed, I tugged at my ear. “Well… I was, let’s just say, on the way. To do something…”

“Alright, you don’t have to justify yourself. I only missed you in the Synergetics College, that’s all.”

I was sure my face was starting to look like a ripe tomato, and my heartbeat was pounding loud in my ears. I was all the more relieved when Zojja drew attention to another topic. “So, one dragon defeated, the nation united for the first time in forever. What’s next?”

“The next dragon, I’d say.” I ventured. “If the Pact was strong enough to defeat Zhaitan, then we can do more if we stick together. After all, we’re all brothers and sisters, aren’t we?”

“Right,” laughed Trahearne, Nahraija still cuddled in his arms, “we are all brothers and sisters.”


	8. First Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “As if! Every one of those lesser wannabe inventors would give all they have to work for a genius like me!” I could make out some indignant glances in the faces that hid behind the desks as Zojja called them lesser beings, but not one dared to speak up.
> 
> “So, will you hire me?”

_Something about this is terribly wrong._ That was the first thought that went through my mind. And I certainly didn’t mean the murderous headache, because I had become accustomed to waking up in pain somehow. No, it rather was the environment that I absolutely couldn’t assign. Neither was I lying on my thin mat inside a tent in the Shiverpeaks, nor on my bed in Rata Sum. The mattress was hard, but softly padded with several blankets and tons of smaller pillows, and the blankets were in no comparison to the scratchy Dolyak furs I had been sleeping in for a week. I opened my eyes, slowly, to get used to the bright light, and sat up to look around. Too fast, as I then realized, because I was immediately grabbed by a dizziness that threatened to knock me right back to the mattress.

“Whoa, slowly! You have to have a huge hangover, judging by what you drank last night, so give your head a little more time!”

Startled, I let out a feint scream and frantically tried to search for the source of this voice. Not far from me, an asura was leaning against a stone counter, with two steaming cups in his hands. Brown curls stood out wildly on all sides of his head and he wore plain brown city clothes, but I recognized his face from somewhere. In my head, I went through all sorts of different situations where I could have met this person, until I remembered the breakfast scene with Zojja. This was the chef who provided the college of Synergetics for food! What was his name again? Bernd? Broll? Blimm?

The asura laughed out loud, apparently reading my expression and pretty much knowing what was going on inside my head. “You have no idea what happened last night, right?”

Panicked, I looked down at me. Did I wear clothes? _Yes. Phew_. Did I wear any other marks, scratches, bruises? _Only the usual injuries from training with Narru._

He raised his hands reassuringly, still holding the cups in them, as I pulled the blanket up to my neck. “No, no, nothing in this direction. I’m Bromm, remember?” _Bromm!_ That was the name. I nodded.

“We met at the victory celebration yesterday. You _do_ remember the victory against Zhaitan, right?” Another nod. “Well, you drank. A lot. And when it was getting late and I couldn’t find anyone who was with you or knew where you live, I took you here. Nothing else! I mean, you almost drank yourself in a coma and didn’t wake up once during the whole travel.”

I couldn’t manage more than an “oh!”. I vaguely remembered seeing a familiar face and much laughter that followed, but I was denied any further memory.

“Oh…” I said again and with some embarrassment, I took the still steaming mug that Bromm handed me. “I… um… I’m Szallejh.” I stammered miserably to myself and made Bromm laugh again.

“I know that you’re Zojja’s niece. We talked for a long time last night after all. But obviously you don’t remember even a bit of it.”

Carefully, I sipped the tea. Could be green tea, with a touch… vanilla? _Hmm, possible. But there’s something else… Something I can’t classify._

The taste of the tea was perfect, even though I didn’t think much of green tea usually, and although I repeatedly burned my tongue on the hot brew, it definitely made me feel much better. And with me, I meant my head. Not only did it soothe some of the burn in my throat, but it also calmed the roar inside my skull. No aspirin could have worked better in this situation.

Bromm cleared his throat and placed his mug on the counter. “I’ll make us some breakfast then… if you want.”

I just nodded; thinking about food, my stomach went crazy, refusing any other kind of communication. I pressed my hands to the grumbling belly in vain as I tried to suppress the feeling of nausea that came up after not eating something for too long, hoping that it would disappear soon or that I would get something to eat soon enough before it became critical.

While Bromm was busy behind the counter with all sorts of equipment, I looked around the room a bit. So far, I hadn’t seen another asuran apartment except the miserable student rooms, and so I was all the more curious to know how normal asura lived, if they could afford more than a room that was only the size of a few feet.

I figured out that I was probably lying on a kind of sofa, which was basically just a niche carved into the stone wall, which had been lined with blankets and pillows in neutral shades of brown. Opposite of me, behind the counter, was a narrow kitchen unit with something that looked similar to an oven, except that it lowed unnaturally blue and gave off pulsating light, and a single stove plate under which a gas flame blazed with a splendid play of colors. In addition, innumerable buttons, switches and levers shone in all sizes and shapes. Probably not the right kitchen for just frying some simple eggs, and there were pans of different sizes everywhere, some even so big that they could’ve belonged to Norn before, and some so primitive that I wondered if they would really serve their purpose as a pan. Bromm really seemed to be a passionate chief.

On the other free walls hung shelves, some with books, some with tablets, and on others were golem parts, rune stones, and all sorts of stuff I couldn’t define. _Again. I should really educate myself a bit._

To the left were two doors, one with the familiar wave symbol and another, through whose open crack I could see a rumbled hammock. To my right was a single plain door, with a few shoes stacked messily, most likely the front door.

The apartment didn’t look very large and was mostly made of stone and metal, but it was functional and comfortable in its own way. Special lamps on the ceiling created the illusion of daylight, which meant they mimicked a reddish glow appropriate to the sunrise, for the narrow triangular window next to the kitchen unit didn’t let in much of the morning sun. But behind the slightly polluted glass, there was a wonderful mixture of colors on the clouds, which were bathed in a variety of reds, yellows and violets. A faint feeling in my stomach, which definitely was not hunger-related, reminded me of how high we had to be above the ground, and all of a sudden I didn’t trust this huge stone cube anymore that weighed a lots of hundreds of tons, hovering in the air simply held my magic.

While I had studied my surroundings, Bromm had finished whatever he had prepared, and now he approached me with two bowls filled to the brim. I put down my now empty mug and gratefully accepted the food, while Bromm took a seat next to me on the sofa; but he left so much space that his closeness left no signs of anxiety. I didn’t know what had happened between us last night, but he seemed to have a good feeling that I felt a bit uncomfortable in my situation because of my lack of memories.

“Hmm, that tastes really fabulous!” I mumbled with my mouth full as I savored the taste that spread along my tongue. Bromm had made something reminiscent of sandwich, just inside a bowl: thick toasted slices of bread with egg, bacon and salad. And even though I had absolutely no idea what the ingredients for the sauce were, it tasted delicious. Bromm just nodded as a sign that he appreciated my compliment and stared at his breakfast a little embarrassed while he ate. He seemed to try to say something now and then, but each time his mouth closed again with no sound coming out of it. Maybe he was embarrassed, too, and the thought made me giggle.

We spent the rest of our meal in silence, and while it was a slightly insecure silence I appreciated that I didn’t have to talk about everything for once and just could get lost in my own thoughts while enjoying my breakfast. This whole world seemed so surreal; while it definitely felt real to be here, all this shouldn’t be able to happen at all! How was that even possible? This world was known to me as an online game, all persons around me had to be fictive characters, born from the written words of a more or less creative game designer. But for those beings, _this_ was the real world, and if one was going to tell them that…

I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind. No one would be able to just accept the truth of existing in a parallel world just as a NPC, not as a real person, with their fate being controlled by thousands of humans. Steered by strangers’ hands, like a puppet. Was anywhere out there another universe or another world, where _my_ home simply existed as some kind of game? I shuddered. I didn’t feel comfortable at the thought that possibly there was someone out there knowing everything about me and my fate like I knew about the future of Tyria.

We finished breakfast eventually and Bromm got up, taking my empty bowl with him while he strolled back to the kitchen.

“So you’re studying in synergetics?” he asked while stowing the dirty dishes inside a box that reminded me of the cloth cleaning systems back in the dorms. I cleared my throat sheepishly and for a moment considered to just tell him a lie.

“To be honest… I’m not studying anything. I have lived in the Shiverpeaks for a long time and came to Rata Sum only some time ago.”

Bromm stared at me with surprise, and I could sense a bit of… disappointment!? Yes, I was sure that he didn’t like that answer at all. But what had he expected in the first place? I suddenly felt very uncomfortable and wanted to leave this home as soon as possible. With some hesitation, I shoved the blanket away, got up and tried to tidy my randomly mixed clothes, though they were completely crumbled from the night.

“I suppose it’s time to leave now. Thank you for everything you did.”

Bromm seemed to be hesitant of what to do next, but he didn’t try to hold me back. He shuffled his feet on the floor while I failed to put on my shoes and opened the door for me. I could hear some mumbled words of farewell, but the door was already closed again when I turned around.

I felt dumbfounded the way I just stood there. Did I say something wrong, or was it really just the fact that I wasn’t as smart as he had thought I was that caused him to react that way? Did an asura really lose face just because they didn’t graduate from a college? Maybe I should ask Zojja to teach me some bits. Maybe I could make it someday… no matter if it would be good, as long as I could graduate.

In the second I stepped away from the door, the unbridled noisy heat from Rata Sum confronted me. Bromm’s home had to be isolated in a very good way, not only against the heat, but also against the enormous noise level covering the lower levels of Rata Sum.

Initially I had planned to enter my room first, but now I imagined it would make more sense to visit Zojja first and question her all the things floating through my head. I didn’t know where she lived, but I was optimistic to find her in her lab anyway, and even a progeny in this city would be able to point me there.

It was enough to ask a single asura, an elder one with bald head, ragged ears and friendly eyes, and even though he stared at me with unspoken questions in his eyes, he pointed to one of the three humming portals on the southwestern side of Rata Sum’s top level, except only the council sat higher.

In front of the portal that would probably lead to the Snaff memorial lab stood a dark-skinned asura with a monocle and piercing blue eyes that made me forget my purpose here for a heartbeat. A hologram over his chest revealed him as “Gate Monitor Az”, and he gave me a grumpy look while I just stood in front of him, searching for the right words.

“Uhh, I… I want to visit my aunt, Zojja. She should be in her lab, I guess.”

Az dug up some kind of tablet, activated the glowing display with a quick movement and scrolled down a list of names while mumbling some incomprehensible words. “Zojja’s niece, huh? Didn’t know she had relatives after all. Let me see if I can find your name on the entry list. What was your name again?”

“Oh, uh… Szallejh.”

With a frown, Az checked the list a second time, though it didn’t seem to be many names on it as far as I could tell, but he shrugged eventually. “Sorry, I can’t find your name on the list. It seems like Zojja doesn’t want you to visit her lab after all.”

I could almost hear my head spinning while I searched for a way to get to Zojja after all. How could I have believed that a genius like Zojja, who would be working day and night for sure, accepted visits from any idiot inside Rata Sum after all?

“Yeah, that… I think that’s because I moved to Rata Sum only recently. I’m sure she just forgot to add me to the list!”

Az snorted without any signs of humor. “Zojja _forgot_. Of course she did.” He sighed. “Alright, I can send a query through if you insist. But remember that a refusal will cause a lifelong blockage.”

That sounded quite hard, but I nodded. Az typed something into his tablet, which started to blink red, and waited.

I shifted from one foot to another nervously. Zojja wouldn’t reject me, would she? Narru had spoken about her duty to give me some lessons, but who knew if she would really do that? Who could promise me that Zojja wouldn’t get tired of me soon enough and just stopped talking to me?

A surprised “Oh!” from Az brought me back to reality again. The tablet was glowing green now, and Az stepped aside while looking obviously confused. “Well then, she let you in. Your name will be on the list from now on. But rethink every word before you speak it out loud, as she can remove you from the list within a heartbeat. And once removed, there is no chance to be added again. That’s the rules. Alright, you might pass then.”

With a hard swallow, I took out my tag so he could scan it, and he only inspected it with a confused gaze without taking it. For some moments, I just stared at him, waiting for Az to order me to pay a portal fee or something, but all he did was staring back with the same confusion.

“Is there no portal fee?” I eventually asked carefully, but that only seemed to confuse Az even more. He shook his head.

“This is a private portal. Private so not everyone can step through it, and private because the costs are all being paid by the lab’s owner. Oola’s ghost, did you leave your brain back at Hoelbrak?”

“Somewhere in that direction.” I replied with a grin, while wondering how much gold Zojja had to own to be able to own such a portal.

I gave Az a short wink, enjoyed the sight of his confused face for a last time and ascended the ramp towards the portal, with its unnatural humming growing louder with each step. I could feel how a part of me was being pulled towards the portal, and even though my stomach turned at the thought of portal travelling again, I knew that this would be the only way. And the more often I travelled through portals, the more I would get used to it. At least I hoped.

“Out you go, you worthless pile of skritt-junk!” Zojja’s angry voice confronted me as soon as I stepped through the portal. A very upset asura ran past me, with slacking ears and tightly pressing a tiny bundle to her chest. I followed her with my eyes until she disappeared through the portal, then turned around to face Zojja, who stood at some stone steps to my left with arms crossed in front of her chest, while the other asura were hiding behind their desks in fear.

I wasn’t surprised at all that right now someone seemed to have been dismissed from Zojja’s krewe, and I knew it wouldn’t be the last one. Zojja was a quite bossy person in general, and as I was glad that this couldn’t happen to me since I was no part of any krewe, I approached her slowly.

“How long did she take it?” I asked with a grin and gave my aunt an arm as a greeting. Zojja only now seemed to take note of my visit, threw a short irritated glance at my arm and snorted. “Two days! Two days and she already was trying to blow up my whole lab. Can’t believe she wanted to equip a S3-golem with megalaser-powerstones! Useless pack.”

I sighed and took back my arm. “And how many fired members is this now for this week?”

“Only the fifth, why do you ask?”

I couldn’t hold back the laughing that shook me and wagged my head in disbelief. I had expected something like that, but five people? As if it wasn’t a good day without at least one asura being fired in this krewe.

“Well… I’m afraid you’ll run out of aspirants for your krewe if you keep on treating them like this, don’t you think?”

“As if! Every one of those lesser wannabe inventors would give all they have to work for a genius like me!” I could make out some indignant glances in the faces that hid behind the desks as Zojja called them lesser beings, but not one dared to speak up.

“So, will you hire me?”

The staggered look made me laugh again, and most of the asura in attendance probably wondered if I had completely lost my mind to make jokes like that in front of Zojja. My aunt turned around with a “Pah!” and waddled back up the stairs to her console, where she continued to putter around. I followed her so I could see what was lying at the tables besides the console, were dozens of panels moved, shifted, ran up and down scrolls and others turned and changed position. To my left I could make out some kind of burner with blue fire, some vessels and jars, a knife and tongs, holding onto something that had been burnt to unrecognizability. To my right were a microscope, some quick sketches and blueprints and a tray holding something black that definitely had been some body part in the past, but I refused to think about it more.

I sighed. “Since my job interview has failed very badly – let’s talk about the real reason I came here. Do you have a moment for me?”

Zojja didn’t look away from her console. “No, I don’t. I am quite busy right now, as you might see. But you’re lucky enough to talk to someone who is genius enough to work and answer your petty little questions at the same time. What is it?”

_That’s called multi-tasking where I come from. Mostly used by women who think they know everything._

“Oh, auntie, you’re the best.” I said with a grin and got another very confused look from Zojja. Pushing aside the working utensils from the table’s stone plate, I sat upon it with the hope it had been built for more weight than I had. The other krewe members were slowly but steadily getting back to their work again too, while they still seemed to be quite careful and no one dared to come to close to Zojja for now. I supposed most of them were wondering who of them would be fired next, and I shook my head. It was beyond my comprehension how someone would voluntarily work in this krewe, living with such fears every day. Maybe Zojja paid well enough? _Can’t imagine that from someone like her. Maybe it’s just the reputation…_

“Okay, so, you genius of multitasking. There are some… really dumb questions I want to ask, if you can call it like that. But I don’t have to justify in front of you anyway, I assume… And it’s even better right now that people are avoiding you for the moment. So, first question. What about asuran tooth hygiene?”

Zojja definitely seemed to be dumbfounded with that question. She stared at me with big eyes, opened and closed her mouth like a fish, searching for words, and was close to throwing her hands up in despair. “Your first days in a completely new world, and your first question is about how asura clean their friggin’ teeth!?”

I only shrugged. While I had used decorticated twigs back in the Shiverpeaks every morning (which had worked just fine for the time being), there had to be other ways of getting a more _fresh_ breath without having to search for a tree every single day. Which would prove more difficult in Rata Sum than in the Shiverpeaks for sure.

“It’s easy. We tear out a few clumps of fur of some friendly Charr and use them as dental silk. Makes the special taste, if you get what that means.”

Now it was my turn to open my mouth like a fish. Of course I knew that Zojja was joking, but I hadn’t been prepared for an asura like her being able to use this kind of irony.

Zojja returned to typing on her console like crazy and I tried to decipher some of the lines, but they were running up the display too fast for me to understand whole sentences. The only thing I managed to understand was that this had to have something to do with devourers.

“You should get yourself a TC-Tron. Just ask for it the next time you get to the market place. It’s easy to operate and will clean your toothlets with arcane energy. Just be careful you don’t hold it too close to your eyes, as you wouldn’t be the first asura to get blinded by the radiance.”

“Oh.” I moved around a bit on the table plate, slightly unsettled by the faint creaking noise coming from the material. The decorticated twig didn’t seem that primitive to me anymore, and I was sure I’d prefer it over the danger of getting blinded. Wasn’t there anything that just worked as simple as a normal toothbrush?

“Good, ehm… next. I was at Bromm’s home this morning, and he seemed to like me… until I mentioned that I’m not studying on any college.”

Zojja rolled her eyes in an excessively way. “Oh, dear. You have to stop those human thoughts inside your little brain! Of course the men are interested in you, since you’re my niece, and they most likely expect you to be a similar genius as me, coming together with the same high status. There will be more showing such behavior towards you, but not because you’re beautiful or something. It’s just the status that’s promising, nothing more. And as soon as they realize that you can’t compete with my brain power, they lose interest.”

 _Ouch._ “So… Do asura only agree on relationships when there’s profit for both sides? No real feelings or anything?” It did appall me that Bromm just had been this friendly to me because I was about to officially become the niece of a celebrity. But on the other hand, what did I expect? Asura were nothing more than an arrogant, selfish and on their personal profit fixated race after all. Zojja was right, I had to rework my way of thinking completely if I wanted to fit into this world at some point. But was this what I wanted? To live in a completely selfish society, where nothing and no one counted except your own person?

“Asura are not as emotionless as you might think now. Of course do many of them only conceive a progeny to pass on their genius of both sides to the next generation, and marriages will most likely come together with a higher status, but there are indeed a few who commit themselves to others just because of aberrant feelings. Mostly a decision they will regret later on, but” –she sighed theatrically – “love does exist for asura too.” Judging her depreciating tone, she didn’t think highly of this subject, and I wondered if Zojja had ever fallen in love before, or if she was able to at all.

“But what is the role a family plays then, when emotionality is this undervalued? Do asura have something like a real family after all?”

Zojja’s look could be compared now to staring at a crushed insect with disgust. “What, do you think we’re like Charr, who just give away their cubs as soon as they can survive without their doms and sires, just to get back to their lower cravings? What a waste! Asura are eager to provide the best education to our progenies, because as soon as they belong to the great geniuses of their time, we will profit too. But if you have more questions concerning this topic, you should probably talk to someone with more practical experience than me.”

I swung my legs in thoughts. Somewhere behind us, I could hear a suppressed curse and held my breath for a moment, but nor did something blow up; neither could I hear anything else happen.

“Zojja… You were a child once too! What about your family?”

She too glanced at one of the lab tables in the back, and her body relaxed visibly, while not completely, once she made sure the mistake wouldn’t risk the safety of her lab for now. 

“My progenitors belong to the minority of those coupling because of sentimentalism.” While her voice was snarky speaking those words I was sure to see a short warm flicker in her eyes. She sighed.

“I didn’t see my father very often. But my sister and I received reminiscences of his journeys now and then, rare materials, foreign technologies… And my mother, well, she let me solve equations before I could properly walk and set everything in motion so Snaff would chose me as his disciple and end Kudu’s apprenticeship. Snaff has been the greatest genius in Tyria after all, that promised status! She wished the same for my sister, but when Narru decided to join the Vigil, my mother was distraught over her so much she didn’t talk to my sister for many years, just because she wouldn’t follow the path of a genius. You see, even this marriage was based more on purpose than on love, the purpose to generate progenies as successful as possible, even when the origins couldn’t be found in the rational.”

It surprised me that Zojja was unveiling so much about her past, and I was grateful for her honesty and frankness. I already knew that this definitely wasn’t typical for most of the asura. It was also clear that Zojja was done with this topic now and wouldn’t talk more about it. So I let her concentrate on her work for a while and watched her being completely lost in her console until I was sure she had forgotten about my presence as soon as we had stopped talking.

A golem was floating through the whole lab, from one working table to another, constantly beeping a feint rhythm. It took me a while to realize that this had to be some sort of communication device to deliver messages and things from one group to another without having to disrupt their work. How useful. And with increasing frequency, I noticed hidden glances towards our direction, most of them focused on me for sure, because Zojja wouldn’t be an unusual view in her own lab. I just assumed that others had rarely managed to stay near Zojja that long before me without being fired or stomped into the ground – or both. For a short moment I even wondered if Zojja would ban me out of her life as soon as she was getting tired of my presence.

I cleared my throat after a while and Zojja startled away from her console impalpably, as if she truly had forgotten that I was still here. As if to make sure of it, she threw a quick side glance at me and gave me an arrogant “hmmpf”.

“Why is High Counsillor Flax so nice to you after all?” I asked quietly, because during our silence I had remembered that the Arcane Council was known to cooperate with the Inquest. Shouldn’t that imply that Zojja and the Council were on the outs with each other?

She laughed. “Believe me, dear, it has not always been that way. Flax didn’t like it at all that I was able to look at his cards all the time. He tried to manipulate me as I tried to manipulate him. But since I know how corrupt the Council really is, I’m aware of things that could turn out dangerous for Flax. And he knows that I know, and that I won’t hesitate to reveal pieces of my knowledge in case he is standing in my way. I used those secrets for my benefit multiple times now after Flax allowed Teyo to steal blueprints for the Snaff-Price from Tippa’s krewe. Since then, the Council tries to not get into my way, as long as I leave the Council matters alone. Though I do have my doubts concerning the endurance of our unsteady peace.”

I shifted my weight with raised brows, as my bottom began to hurt already from the hard stone table.

“You really doubt everything, don’t you, Zojja?”

“That’s what asura do. What we live for.” She replied with a shrug and cursed about a red blinking window that had popped up on her console display. But the mistake was quickly found and soon the display was glowing green again.

I thought back to the day Zojja had found me. She hadn’t doubted _my_ story.

“Why do you believe me then…?”

“If there’s something I know very well, it’s Tyria’s magic. And dear, what you did back then… that was not from this world for sure.”

Back then, I had fallen off the sky out of nowhere and had sat in the grass for minutes like a maniac, and I grinned at the thought how it must have looked from Zojja’s point of view. I was just shifting my weight back to the front so I could get up and search for a more comfortable place to sit, as the material below me eased with a loud _Crack!_ and I found myself back on the floor, all around me pieces of the broken stone plate and in the middle of my lap the thing that for sure had been a body part once.

I couldn’t decide yet what hurt more: my bottom or my head, which had gotten hurt by the burner and all its equipment, but as I saw the black something in my lap, I screamed in a high-pitched voice similar to a mouse and hit around me, hoping to get rid of the something that way. Unfortunately, the substance was stickier than I had thought, and I had to loosen it from my shirt by hand to finally throw it away a few meters.

After following its flight with a disgusted look, my eyes turned back to Zojja. She was staring at me with disbelief and couldn’t properly close her mouth anymore. I was sure that this was the point where she would throw me from her list and out of the lab since I had destroyed a part of it, but just then Zojja begun to roar with laughter.

In those days, I had never heard her laugh that way, and the other krewe members stared at us too, shocked, surprised and with disbelief.

It still took me time to fully understand what exactly had happened to me when Zojja gave me her hand and helped me up again. With a grimace of pain I tried to rub dirt from my clothes and gave two golems a sheepish glance as they hurried towards us and started to clean the little chaos I had made.

“Eh, sorry for the work table…” I mumbled as Zojja managed to calm down a bit. The grin was still glued to her face, and I would have killed to hear her thoughts in that moment.

“Don’t worry about it too much. There have been made far worse damages already inside this lab.”

She examined me from top to bottom and added: “But maybe you should consider some changes in your diet?”

I tried to look as scandalized as possible, arms akimbo. “Aunty… did you just call me _fat_!?”

Zojja only laughed and wiped away some dust from her console that had been stirred up by my accident. “The golems will manage with the cleaning, don’t let them irritate you. But before you continue to ask your human-brained questions, I have a question to you.”

That caught me with surprise. “ _You_ have a question to _me_?”

She nodded. “What does _Multitasking_ mean?”


	9. of Shrimps and Dragons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, hey, first: you only almost died once, and if I may remind you politely, I have been the one to save you from that situation! And to answer your question: training, already forgot about that?”

„By the spirits, even a Dolyak with three legs would run faster than you!“

“That’s… because you’ve… let me run… around this damned sea… for three hours now!” _In the blazing afternoon sun. Without a break. In full armor._

I could still remember the last training, where it had only taken a few minutes until I had wanted to wring his neck, but right now there was not much missing and I really would cancel the training and pull my hammer over his head here and now. But I didn’t.

Aidan’s yelling faded as I made my way over the next bridge with all the strength I had left, more limping than running. While he was chasing me through the whole city of Lion’s Arch, he had settled down on a rock near the water and let his feet dangle in the cool sea. Whereas I was being laughed at by most of the city’s inhabitants as I wobbled around in my armor, sweating and panting, the norn in bathing trousers kept yelling at me.

_It would be so easy to just throw myself down from the bridge and dive into the cool water…_

I blocked out the thought and kept shifting from one foot to another, my glance hefted to the ground so I wouldn’t stumble over my own shoes. All feeling from my legs had long gone, and the only thing I still felt was the racing of my blood inside my ears.

Finally I crossed the last bridge and turned left down a small path when Aidan came into my sight of view again and gave the long awaited sign to stop. I came to a stumbling stand at the small rivulet that crossed my training route and without further thoughts I let myself drop on the ground with face forward. The impact was harder than expected and I tasted sand in my mouth, but as the water found its way through the openings in my armor, I clumsily rolled around on my back and exhaled a loud sigh of relief.

“You want… to kill me… am I right?”

Aidan laughed and half-heartedly kicked after a fish that wanted to swim past his feet.

“It’s my job to train you, isn’t it? And before you learn how to fight with your armor, you should learn how to wear it first.”

I got up and climbed the rock to sit down next to Aidan and let the sun dry my body. “I understand that, but in some points… your training comes close to torture.” I mumbled and threw a glance towards the point where the lighthouse had to be. During our last training session, Aidan had chased me up the whole building, and as if this hadn’t been stressful enough, he had pushed me into the sea from the highest point just for fun, and without any forewarning.

“You don’t plan to throw me off something today again, do you?” My breath had calmed down once more and I watched Aidan as he took on his plain leather tunic, hiding a part of the artistic tattoos covering most of his body.

“Hah! Good idea. What do we take today? Macha’s Landing?”

Distrusting as I had become, I stepped away from him a few feet. This man was so crazy that he could even be serious about that. But luckily for me, he just shook his head with a grin.

“No, I have something special planned for you to end our session today. You’ll have to ascend something again, but this time the descent won’t be that… sudden.”

“Am I allowed to take off the armor for that?”

I knew the answer even before I had finished that question. At least dusk was falling soon, what meant that the heat would fade after all.

“Hey! I want to meet an old friend here in Lion’s Arch later. A really charr-ming lady, if you get it. Necromancer at her finest, some might call her creepy, but I’m sure you will like her. Do you want to come with me?”

Aidan was chatting happily while we walked over the white glowing bridge that I had crossed so many times already today. The first stars were already visible and the night promised to get clear and fresh, but for the moment I still enjoyed the splendid play of colors from the sun that was disappearing bit by bit behind the horizon.

Today had been my day off, since the Aquatarium was always closed on the day I had my training, and I really thought about accepting Aidan’s offer. It couldn’t hurt to make a few more contacts, and I hadn’t talked to a single Charr since I arrived in Tyria.

“How comes a Norn and a Charr are good friends?” I asked with a grin. Aidan only shrugged. “Hoelbrak and the Black Citadel are not that far apart, thus it’s not uncommon for Charr and Norn to cross parts with each other. You would be amazed at how many close friendships there are between both races! But maybe not like the ones you might have in mind right now.” He added with a shaking head.

We walked past the inner city walls and again I was stunned by the turmoil that always took place around the Asura portals leading to the main cities, while the area around the port was almost empty during this time of day. Therefore the bars were fuller than full, and even here I could witness the sounds of more than one brawl going on.

When Aidan hat mentioned that the last part of today’s session would have something to do with climbing again, I hadn’t thought that our destination would be in the middle of the city. But now that we were walking towards the outside of one of the bridges of Lion’s Arch that were covered with huge walls and even houses on both sides, I felt a bit uneasy as a sense of foreboding grew inside my stomach.

“Do you see the wooden planks at that wall?” Aidan pointed to a few instable looking planks that had been fixed onto the wall of the bridge for whatever reason, and I could see that they led towards one of the nearest roof tops with a gap of about a meter between each of them.

He didn’t even wait for my answer, jumped onto the first one and balanced from plank to plank, light-footed as a cat, just to land on the roof top that had been colored green from wind and weather with an elegant jump.

“You can’t be serious about that.” I mumbled under my breath and carefully stared down the black water under my feet. At least I would not necessarily die if I landed in the water the right way…

“I… I don’t think that I can do that, Aidan.” I shouted towards him while I clawed my fingers inside a wooden barrel next to me. Aidan had smoothly sat down onto a tiny chimney by now and patiently waited for me to follow his example.

“Come on, don’t be shy! You don’t really have to jump after all.”

_Maybe not, as long as your legs are as long as my whole body._

With racing heart I put one foot onto the wooden plank first, then the other, listening closely if I could hear any dangerous squeaking noises from the plank or signs that it would immediately crush under my weight. But when it was strong enough to resist a norn that weighed tons, it should be able to hold me too.

Luckily for me the stone wall to my left was rough enough to cling to the stones now and then while I got closer to the next plank with tiny steps. Then I stood at the edge, with the view of the sea under my feet, and I had to close my eyes for a moment to not completely panic. Why did Aidan have to choose such extraordinary locations for his training? Would a simple training ground not have been enough?

_It’s only a tiny jump. You can do it._

I took a deep breath and jumped, making a noise that resembled a desperate squawk more than a cry, and was honestly surprised to land on the second plank alive and unharmed when I opened my eyes again.

“Hehe, yeah! Well done. Now do this twice more and you’ll be done with the worst part. For now.”

“I just won’t question any further.” I grumbled and jumped a second time, though this time without thinking about my current height for too long. It was easier if I didn’t recall the suicidal actions I was going through, and I was sure that we would even go much higher than this. For the moment, we were still not higher than the bridge, and Aidan hat promised an ascent, which meant something.

Aidan reached out his hand and pulled me up onto the roof towards him, where I allowed myself a short break to catch my breath. My body still felt like running around the city in the hot sun even though the evening air had already cooled the day’s heat. But if there was one thing I had to admit about Aidan, it was the fact that he knew the places with the best view. Last time on the lighthouse I had been able to get a unique view over whole Lion’s Arch and even a part of the Gendarran Fields, and while Tyria kept confronting me with some vexations now and then, the beauty of this world was indeed something special.

Even now, as I stood on the roof top, I had a nice overview of the harbor of Lion’s Arch on the one side, and on the other I could see the narrow streets spreading and being lit with more and more lights as if they were competing with the stars mirroring themselves in the water.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? Wait until we’re on the top! You won’t be able to close your mouth again while being speechless with amazement.” Aidan got up from his seemingly quite comfortable chimney and pulled up himself on a kind of awning that had been attached somewhere over our heads. He knelt on the fabric and grabbed my arm to pull me up too with a smooth movement.

It wasn’t easy to stand on the wobbly fabric, but I preferred a bigger area over the thin, rotten-looking planks. Aidan led me to another roof where some kind of wooden crane had been fixed and pointed towards a slim wooden ladder leading to one of the inhabited towers.

“No. No, no, no. You can’t be serious about that!” I cried out in horror as I examined the ladder that was maybe as wide as one of my feet. While the balancing over the planks had been a horror trip for me already, this definitely was murder. There wasn’t even water to catch me in the worst case, but under us was a cobbled street, and an impact would mean sure death for me.

“Ohhh no.” I said again with trembling voice, but the stubborn norn had already continued to move and crossed the ladder with huge steps as if it was the main road of Hoelbrak. How could a norn move in such elegant ways!?

I knew that I didn’t have a choice other than follow Aidan. So I took a deep breath and set one foot in front of another as slow as possible, always watching my steps carefully to not miss the wood and loose balance. My eyes didn’t stop watching my feet while I tried to avoid thinking about the abyss down there.

After a few minutes that felt like hours to me I had almost reached the tower, when angry shouts from below disrupted my concentration. I flailed about with my arms to get back my balance, but it was too late already. With a feint cry, I tilted to my right and already saw the copper stones getting closer when a hand grabbed my foot and pulled me up again upside down. My head begun to spin both because of the thoughts at what had almost happened and because of the fact that I was watching the world from a wrong angle right now, and I was more than happy when Aidan put me down again on the roof that was covered in gull feces.

“Whoa, slowly there! What kind of sense of balance is that supposed to be?” Aidan shook his head while I rolled on my back with no elegance at all, only to lift my upper body again.

“No one at all.” I grunted and wiped away the sweat from my forehead. The nice view aside, I really hoped that this climbing would soon come to an end. “Please tell me that this has been the worst part… I won’t be able to get through this again!”

Aidan gave me a motivating pat on the shoulder, but it appeared that I indeed had beaten the hardest part of this today. We continued running over the roof tops for a while longer, jumped from roof to roof, climbed on chimneys and towers, but as soon as we got close to Macha’s Landing, I was losing strength. The heavy armor and the whole adrenaline were taking their toll now, and I let myself fall down on the wooden ridge with beating heart and trembling legs.

“Could we… take a break, Aidan?” I asked while catching my breath, and I could not understand at all how the norn wasn’t even showing the slightest signs of endeavor. Aidan just gave me his typical grin.

“We’re almost there. Come on, I’ll give you a piggyback.” Faster than I could have said anything against it, Aidan had lifted me from the ground and sat me down on his shoulders, making me feel like a little child. But I didn’t mind as my legs wouldn’t have made it much further.

Aidan ran along the whole ridge and took a run-up to push him from the edge and jump a distance I had never seen a human being jump before. While I had to admit that his legs were longer than human’s the distance he covered was still remarkable. With trained hands, he pegged to one of the steel beams that were protruding from the Landing, climbing up hand over hand that way. My extra weight didn’t seem to bother him more than a fly, and as we reached the upper level he knelt down so I could get down more easily.

We were not the only ones up here; another woman had found her way up and sat on the dock with outstretched legs while watching the stars. But it wasn’t only the sky that promised a nice view; the Landing provided a brilliant sight on everything. While I couldn’t see the Krytan lands from here, the color play of the independent city at night was even better. And it wasn’t as blurred as it had been on top of the lighthouse, but I could see every single lamp, could see dark silhouettes ranging through the alleys, lanterns being lit and candles in windows, sometimes a flame catching fire or dying.

I couldn’t help but compare this city to the cities I had known from my earlier life, full of electricity and noise, neon-colored advertising panels and red and white lights of cars driving by. But Lion’s Arch couldn’t be compared with something like that. There were no skyscrapers made of naked concrete piercing the sky, but houses that were built like artworks, partially made out of boats or made to look like one could be found throughout the whole city. The night was not filled with the noise of trams, horns and ambulances, but with laughter of humans, charr and skritt and all the other creatures who had found their way to Lion’s Arch.

An airy breeze ruffled my hair and cooled the sweat on my skin. Besides every struggle I had gone through, this place was just beautiful. There was everything needed for a good living, and even if I had to refrain from some things, it would be possible to get used to this…

But something inside of my refused to accept that thought. I didn’t belong here after all, neither in Tyria, nor in the body of this asura. I was a human and I had to find the way back to my world.

“And? Have I promised too much?” Aidan asked with a laugh and sat down beside me, his legs crossed and his arms loosely laid upon his knees so his brandished tattoos were clearly visible in the moonlight.

I suppressed the thoughts about my home and gave back the grin. “Not at all. Even though I can’t understand how someone would take all that way just to spend some time up here.”

“Hehe, no one does that. There’s a ladder, just beneath the edge there, where you can climb up this place in a handful of heartbeats.”

With disbelief, I stared at the norn and suppressed the recurring urge to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze as hard as I could.

“Excuse me!? And why did we have to go through all this, if I may ask? I almost died because of you, multiple times!”

“Hey, hey, first: you only almost died _once_ , and if I may remind you politely, _I_ have been the one to save you from that situation! And to answer your question: training, already forgot about that?”

I shook my head and returned to watch the cities’ lights and with a slight ache in the stomach I thought about what would possibly await me in the next few weeks.

“Where exactly do we go?”

Aidan led me away from the harbor after we had descended Macha’s Landing over the ladder, up a winding staircase which had to lead to a well-frequented place if I interpreted the noise right.

“It’s Kesh’s favorite premise. The best shrimps in Tyria, at least that’s what she claims. I just don’t like seafood, no matter how hard I try. But you shouldn’t say that out loud in her presence if you want to stay alive for some time longer!”

“Oh? Anything more I should know so your charr-friend won’t pull off my head?”

Aidan opened his mouth for an answer, but before he could take a breath in, he was interrupted by a voice that let the blood inside my veins freeze immediately.

“Baersson, old friend! So nice to see you!” A charr as tall as Aidan came hurrying towards us and gave the norn a turbulent hug without even paying me any attention. Her laugh sounded as if it could even make death in person feel uncomfortable, with her voice being as scratchy and ghostly that I felt the urge to turn around here and now and run away, as far as I could.

When the huge cat turned her attention towards me, this urge got only stronger. Kesh, if I remembered her name right, was quite slender for her kind, if you could say that for a cat, and her fur was reddish with lighter stripes. She wore plain black leather pants and a loose and also black shirt which stuck inside the waistband. There were dozens of small chains with skulls and bones dangling around her neck and wrists, and they tinkled with every movement. Her mane was braided into dozens of small braids, decorated with black and red pearls, hanging down the right side. But that was not what made me retreat a few steps, it was her face.

Her eyes glowed in an intense pink as if someone had stuck a light bulb behind her sockets, and her grin revealed a row of extremely sharp and pointy teeth and a tongue that was split like a snake. The ears and horns on her left had been completely torn and even revealed parts of her skull, but that didn’t seem to bother her. Where no fur could grow anymore, I could see red scars running across her cheek and eye, and whatever had happened to her, it still looked painful.

“Whom did you bring with you, Baersson? Will there be rat meat as a side dish for shrimps today?”

I took back a few more steps instinctively and bumped into the cold railing of the stairs. _Just do it and run away as far as you can, you fool!_

Aidan laughed, which I couldn’t understand at all in my situation. My eyes swayed from his completely relaxed face to the split tongue which stuck out of the mouth as if the charr couldn’t wait to eat me. The heat of my training was completely forgotten by now and I shivered as if I was deep inside the Shiverpeaks instead of the tropical Lion’s Arch.

“Hehe, don’t scare the little one that much! Szallejh, that’s Arrhakesh, the lovely charr-lady I told you about earlier. Kesh, this is Szallejh. Narru asked me to train her, and you know how she is when you say no to her, so…”

“Lovely charr-lady, eh?” I mumbled so quietly no one could have possibly heard it, but Arrhakesh still chuckled and implied a mock bow. “At your service, little rat.”

The norn cleared his throat and laid his hand upon the charr’s shoulder while he pushed me forward again with his other hand. Which could only mean that running away wasn’t an option.

“I did warn you that most people find Kesh a bit… scary at first. But she is not that bad at all, believe me!”

“You flatter me, Baersson. But now let’s sit down finally, I am so hungry that I could eat a whole herd of cows right now.” Arrhakesh turned around and let herself fall down clumsily on a wooden bench at a table that was still free. This had to be some kind of open-air restaurant, with painted clothes over our heads to give shelter from the hot sun at day, and everywhere hung colorful holiday lights and there even was a live band playing good-mood music in one corner. Waiters ran around between the tables and took orders from the guests, brought desserts and drinks, and as soon as we had followed Kesh’s example and sat down, one of them gave us the menu cards. They were nothing more than inscribed wooden boards, but they still offered a quite broad range of food. I decided to take a plate with grilled vegetables and lamb meat, and Aidan ordered a huge jug of beer for all of us.

While we waited, I finally took off most parts of my armor and stuffed them inside my backpack, still fascinated by its functioning. I definitely had to ask Zojja to explain to me how those runes of holding worked! The cool breeze blowing over my sweat-soaked underclothes was way more comfortable than the shivers that always came whenever I watched Arrhakesh for too long. Hence I gave Aidan my whole attention while he cheerily talked about the latest developments in Hoelbrak and sipped my beer now and then. It didn’t taste that good in my opinion, but I got used to its taste with every gulp, and after a while it almost became bearable.

“And, Baersson, what do you think will happen next?” Asked Arrhakesh now, her paws laid loosely around her jug, while she followed the waiters with hungry eyes as they brought food to the other guests.

Aidan shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t really know. The pact will need some time to recover from its losses for sure. I mean, there were not just a few deaths back in Orr, and now that Zhaitan is dead, our people have to lick their wounds first. Thanks to Bear we were stationed at the Fort of Trinity, eh?”

“Pah! You weren’t even there when the dragon fell. Even at the fort it hasn’t been going easy the last weeks. But it’s true, life expectations were still way higher than deeper in Orr.”

Finally they brought our food; Arrhakesh got a huge bowl filled with shrimps and a sauce that heavily smelled like garlic, and Aidan lashed into a huge steak that almost made a third of my size. My vegetable plate looked good too, and it definitely had been the right decision to order the asura-sized portion, since even this would be too much for me to eat in one go.

After he had swallowed down a huge piece of steak with an even bigger gulp of bear, Aidan gave the charr an enormous grin. “Hey! Everyone has to take vacation at some point, no matter how hard the times!”

“You take more vacation than anything else, Baersson.” Arrhakesh pointed at Aidan accusatorily with her fork, but then her eyes fell upon me and I almost dropped the food from my mouth in surprise.

“What about you, little rat? What Order do you belong to? Haven’t seen you with the Vigil before.”

I swallowed the bite with some effort while trying to withstand the ice-cold glance of the necromancer. “I, uh… to be clear, I never joined any of the Orders.”

“Ah, so you’re no member of the Pact at all.” I took a deep breath as her glowing eyes focused on her bowl for a while. “Here, try this. The best shrimps all over Tyria! And the freshest as well.” She reached out her fork towards me and I could have sworn that something inside her bowl had just moved. _Fresh and as good as alive. Who would be surprised?_

I was about to decline the offer politely as Aidan’s glare got my attention. He shook his head markedly without ostentation, but I still understood. Sadly.

With clenched teeth I took the fork and forced myself to stare at my jug while I swallowed the shrimp. But I couldn’t avoid the fishy and terrible taste of seafood spread inside my mouth immediately and had to hold back extremely to not spit it back on the table again. I returned the fork back to the charr and tried to hide the shudder that wanted to run from head to toes.

“Mhmm, fantastic.” I mumbled and kicked Aidan’s foot under the table as hard as he could while he hid his laughter under fake coughs, but it didn’t seem to help in any way.

“Doesn’t really matter, I think. The thing with the Pact. I’m not sure if it will be a thing for much longer after all.” Arrhakesh continued to appreciatively fill her mouth with shrimp after shrimp, and now I was sure that at least some of the animals were still alive. And I had just eaten one of them.

I quickly rinsed my mouth with another gulp of beer. “Why not?”

The charr sighed. “This plant might be a quite good Marshal and everything, but the Pact is nothing more than a raggle-taggle bunch of soldiers and scholars who have to come to terms with lots of blowbacks right now. I don’t think that this alliance will stand against another dragon. At least not in the near future.”

Aidan thumped his jug down on the table hard enough to spill parts of its content. “What do you say!? The Pact is the strongest alliance that Tyria has seen for centuries. Even the charr and humans have laid their disputes aside to fight against the bigger enemy. Your opinion in honors, Kesh, but do you really want to tell me that we have run out of steam after a single ridiculous dragon?”

“You truly think like a norn, my friend. It’s just an assumption, nothing more. But either one way or another, the other dragons won’t just accept Zhaitan’s death and disappear from this continent so we can live in peace. One after one they will awake and get stronger, and while we might be able to delay the next huge fight, we can’t avoid them. They will come sooner or later. The only question is with whom we’ll have the pleasure of meeting next.”

“Definitely Jormag.” Aidan grumbled.”The ice dragon has shown signs of activity for a while now and his ice brood is getting deeper into Tyria with every day. It would only be right to attack them next and make an end to their activities.”

Kesh tilted her head in thoughts. “I understand your point, but I’d rather guess Kralkatorrik. The Edge of Destiny is finally united again! Why shouldn’t they end now what they have started back then? Even Kralkatorrik hasn’t been too decent lately. He, rat, what do you think?”

“Mordremoth.” I mumbled with mouth still full.

“Pah! Of all dragons the one showing the least signs of activity? Sure thing, let’s attack the dragon that will harm us the least in the near future. Honestly, you have to explain that to me.”

_It’s simple. A completely crazy Sylvari will come and dig deep holes into the earth of whole Tyria to wake up the dragon completely, who by the way created the Sylvari and will corrupt most of them to fight for his side._

“I just know it.”

It was after midnight when I could finally drop down in my hammock after taking a shower and getting fresh clothes. We had sat together for a long time and had emptied a few more beer jugs, but this time I had been smart enough to take it slow. While my head was feeling dizzy, I wouldn’t have a hangover the next morning, just the usual pain from the training. But it had been worth it, and Aidan had explained grinning that it only had been the first part of something really big. He planned to take me higher up after each training to show me more and more from Lion’s Arch, so I’d have to go through the jumping many more times.

Kesh had suggested to meet regularly after the training sessions and since Aidan would be there with me every time I had agreed. The charr didn’t seem to be that scary at all at the end of the day, but still I didn’t want to meet with her alone for now. I decided to visit the Grove on the next day, hoping to find Nahraija there. It has been a week since I had last seen the sylvari and while I had really enjoyed her company during my time with Narru, it didn’t seem to be a bad idea at all.

Besides it couldn’t be a bad thing to come out of Rata Sum more than I had been able to the last days.


	10. Future Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The mysterious stranger it is then.” I mumbled and kept walking besides the Sylvari for some while longer, hoping that he might speak to me eventually, but his mouth remained closed. Only his eyes kept wandering down to me now and then, and every time I could almost hear his voice inside my head. Go. Back off. Leave me alone.

_Rata Sum. Main city of the Asura since 1173 AE. Inhabitants: approximately 157.000, total area of the Sum-territory: 25 square kilometers. Average life expectancy: 87 years. Main cause of death: downfall of the city surface, planned as well as unplanned, closely followed by explosions and intoxication as a result of lab accidents._

I kept scrolling through the information about Rata Sum for a while with the help of a Data Pod that I had borrowed from the pubic archives the day before. Since Narru had validated me as an official family member in front of the Arcane Council three days ago, I did not only own a permanent permit of residence, but I was allowed every privilege of a normal citizen as well. Meaning I had access to most of the upper archives, got benefits while using Asura Portals and I was allowed to enter a college, as long as I was able to present a suitable project for approval. The last point was still lying far ahead of me, but at least I could dig myself through all kinds of lectures and recordings and learn a bit more about the knowledge that still failed me.

I sat inside the softly swaying hammock with crossed legs, wrapped into one of the softest blankets I had been able to find on the market. It was still early morning, but for whatever reason I hadn’t been able to fall asleep again and I didn’t even know what had woke me up in the first place. At least nothing had been exploding in the dorms and everything else was quiet too, since every halfway normal Asura would still be peacefully sleeping. If I now tried to lie down again, I would be tired for the rest of the day, which was for sure. But I still couldn’t find the right motivation to get up, thus I busied myself in dim light with the development history of Rata Sum.

Other than expected it hadn’t been the Asura who built Rata Sum, as they had only repopulated the abandoned city after the old civilization had failed to endure. The details of that civilization couldn’t be found in any document, there were no name and no date, but it was clear that the Asura had rebuilt the city and claimed it as their own after being driven from the underground by the Elder Dragons. Down in the depths of the cube, Golems were still busy with clearing and expanding the Rata to make it habitable. Kekk had taken me down to the catacombs of the city once, and they had fascinated me so much I definitely wanted to get down there again as soon as possible.

The catacombs basically were a quite dramatic, but still fitting name for what I had found down there; mostly destroyed stone foundations, overgrown by wild dark-loving plants, waterfalls here and there caused by damaged pipelines and most of all scrap and every kind of trinkets that someone might have lost before. The hot jungle air wasn’t present at all down there, it was cold instead and damp and everything had a scary echo. The light source came from the fluorescence of the plants, maybe even radioactive laboratory residues and here and there a glimpse of light from the upper city. It was full of wildlife, and none of it had tried to attack me yet.

Getting back up again was the only hard part about it. Because the catacombs were mostly still undiscovered, the Arcane Council had forbidden anyone to stay there. Of course no one kept that rule, not even some members of the council itself, but because of this law there were no proper possibilities to ascend, no stairs or portals. After the descend hat proven to be more or less easy if you could climb somewhat good, you had to make sure there was someone in the upper city who got you back up with the help of some kind of rope. I’d have to ask Kekk for help if I wanted to get down again. _Or maybe I should just make more friends within Rata Sum._

_Only a quarter of the population lives inside the central cube, most of them reside in the outer commons of Rata Sum, the Arkentia Valley, the Magus Valley, the Riven Valley or even the neighboring areas of Soren Draa. The center contains mostly laboratories and studying rooms of the three colleges, Statics, Synergetics and Dynamics._

I soon had learned why most of the people avoided living inside the cube. It was loud; things exploded all the time and you had to live with the fear of being exposed to invisible toxins and radiation. The peacemakers assured on a regular base that the filter systems were working flawlessly, but there were rumors maintaining the contrary. Though I didn’t have another chance at the moment, since my financial income would never be enough for a proper flat or even a whole house.

During one of my last visits I had asked Zojja how much money such a reputable and gifted Asura like her would make, but I hadn’t been given an answer. Although Zojja had given me an invitation to visit her home inside the Magus Valley some day, and now that I knew how high the rent was there, I could imagine how rich you had to be in such a position.

_The main focuses of the city are the colleges, which are assigned their own part of the city, even though the numbers of students slightly vary from college to college. Roughly 30% of students in Rata Sum are affiliated to Dynamics, around 46% Synergetics and only 24% Static._

I deactivated the data pod with a sigh and returned it to the other pods and books on my desk. One after another I could hear the other Asura inside the sleeping dorms waking up, as there were footsteps and whispered voices on the floors. I collected an ordinary outfit, a brown shirt with geometric shapes and wide black pants, held around the waist with a broad belt. The shoes that completely covered the toes had proven to be most suitable for travelling, and since I didn’t know what would await me on my journey to Nahraija, I choose them. While Kekk had ensured me that Metrica and Caledon would be harmless for travelers as long as you didn’t leave the paths and behaved nondescript to everything that could become dangerous, I didn’t trust his words completely. According to this I had my armor stowed inside my backpack as I would be able to move way faster if I didn’t have to wear it all the time. But my hammer was still fixed at its proper place on my back; it gave me a certain feeling of safety that I didn’t want to miss.

Of course I could have simply used the portal in Lion’s Arch, but I wanted to learn more about this world that I was in now, and besides I could get to know more people on the way (and save a bit of money by the way that I could need some day).

As I ascended the ramp to the upper levels, the sun was just rising above the sea and painted the sky in a wonderful play of colors. Only a few small clouds slowly rolled by over my head and it didn’t look like rain would come for the rest of the day. The weather couldn’t have been better for travels. I strolled over to the Synergetics kiosk where only a few Asura sat around this time of day and politely greeted Bromm, who was already preparing everything for the coming inrush inside his small kitchen.

Bromm greeted back, but he avoided looking at me and didn’t try to start any other conversation, unlike on my first day in Rata Sum. Oddly enough that gave me a disappointed prickle inside my chest, and again I wondered what had gone so terribly wrong the other morning. I still didn’t want to believe that he had only been friendly to me because of Zojja. On the other side, what else could have been the reason for him to kick me out so suddenly after I had revealed my intellectual weakness?

I chose something I could easily eat on the way because I didn’t intend to stay here longer than possible. And those sandwiches were not only practical but looked absolutely delicious as well. Bromm might have been unpredictable, but cooking was definitely something he could do.

While I hit the road to the portal to Soren Draa, I went through my plans for today. Depending on how long I would need to get to the Grove, I would have to take the Lion’s Arch portal for the way back so I would be ready for my work at the Aquatarium in time, as I had sacrificed my only day off for the training with Aidan. _What could prove to be a fatal mistake if he keeps torturing me like this._

Luckily for me, there wasn’t much traffic yet at the portal. One after another, all Asura from Metrica and other surrounding areas came to begin their daily work in Rata Sum. Thus the gate monitors were busier with checking the people entering the city and just scanned my tag without further examination. One more benefit of the permanent citizenship, both for the guards and for me. While I had been forced to pay for each transit on-site before, I could now just credit the sums to some kind of bill that had to be paid in regular intervals. That made traveling way faster and simple, while it increased the risk of losing overview over my expanses.

The air in Soren Draa was a bit hotter and oppressive than it had been in Rata Sum, because the wind brought by the sea usually got stuck on the high mountains between Metrica and the main city, causing the air to dam up noticeably. Now in the morning the temperature was still bearable, as it would get really hot around midday when the sun was heating up everything to a maximum. I wasn’t that much bothered by the heat – since I had spent a week in the Shiverpeaks I was thankful for every sunbeam that could warm me.

I careered along the streets of Soren Draa with brisk tempo, watched the many labs being booted bit by bit as well as the living homes, where now in the morning every window was widely opened as long as the heat wasn’t too strong. The world of the Asura wasn’t too different at all from the world I had known. The daily routine was getting up and to work, only to spend time with family and friends in the evening. The only difference was that the technology in Metrica was dimensioned for making your life easier instead of hampering it by inventing unnecessary junk.

Many of the Asuran inventors wouldn’t make it far for sure with their creations, but if humans in my world had invented cleaning golems and all that for their cities, life would have been way easier for sure. Asura of course used the additional time to create even more and even better things, quite contrary to all the humans back in my home.

I was driven by conflict again, like every time I compared both worlds with each other. Tyria was a wonderful place as far as I could tell, people had a comfortable standard of living if you ignored the communal showers, and Tyria promised so many adventures and wonderful things that I could have never dreamt of! But on the other side it was full of dangers that I hadn’t been prepared for, and the whole land was shaken by the fight against the dragons. Not really something life-extending. And last but not least I simply was a stranger. I was a human, didn’t belong here, had no business in this world. Basta. The sooner I could find a way to return home, the better.

 _Maybe it’s a mistake to make new friends while I’m here?_ Wouldn’t that make getting home only harder? Though I’d need contacts to even find a possibility for returning… and as long as I was stuck in this world, I didn’t want to relinquish some familiarities.

Finding the way to Caledon was easy. At first, I had to ask for directions on every crossing, but it seemed that the Asura were more friendly on the countryside than they had been in the city, and at the level of Desider Atum I found a small caravan that had the same destination. They were two Sylvari and each of them was leading their own heavily laden ox as they were making their way back home to the Grove again after selling various goods in the small village. I had overheard by chance where they wanted to travel and the female Sylvari, Levinny, had been eager to accept my company for the duration of our short travel.

Sylvari were a fascinating people, and Levinny didn’t form an exception. Her bark was blue with slightly violet patterns, and out of her head grew something resembling a shrub that just began to bloom. Her dark eyes glowed, or at least the one that wasn’t hidden by a monocle, her face was covered by a never ending smile and her appearance was rounded by a bottom-long leather coat, jackboots and a huge rifle hanging loosely around her shoulder. But the weight of the enormous weapon didn’t seem to bother her as she almost danced light-footedly next to her ox and happily told me about everything coming to her mind.

Levinny had woken ten years ago in the Cycle of Day, and she was one of the few Sylvari who hadn’t been gifted with a Wyld Hunt (or hadn’t been cursed, in her words). The Wyld Hunt, at least so she explained to me, was some sort of inherent quest that wouldn’t let go of you and would chase you with an inner unrest until the Hunt was done. Some could complete their Hunt quite fast, while others – such as Pact Marshal Trahearne – were given a seemingly impossible task like cleansing Orr.

“Most see the Wyld Hunt as a great honor, but I am glad that I don’t have to mess with something like that. I have enough things to do already, who needs a predefined task on top of that that I maybe wouldn’t even want to complete?” Levinny laughed and gave her ox a dab on his hind legs so he would maintain his reasonably quick pace.

The Sylvari next to her only grunted barely hearable, and that was when I noticed that he hadn’t said a single word since we had started moving. I let the oxen pass by to get to the other side and examined the Sylvari while we continued walking. He was small, minimum smaller by a head compared to Levinny for sure, but still way taller than me. A night black coat covered him from head to toe and the hood covered most of his face so I could only see a pair of glistening eyes examining me constantly the same way I stared at him. Something about them seemed to say: _Go away! Don’t look at me; it won’t bode well for you!_

I grinned at the stranger nonetheless and asked: “And who are you? I can’t remember that we have been introduced to each other.” But the only answer I got was this pair of glistening eyes that were tapered to small slits only to focus on what lay in front of us again.

Levinny giggled and slightly shifted the weight of the rifle over the shoulder. “Excuse him; he’s not much of a talker when it comes to strangers. But he is harmless as long as you don’t challenge him for his books.”

“The mysterious stranger it is then.” I mumbled and kept walking besides the Sylvari for some while longer, hoping that he might speak to me eventually, but his mouth remained closed. Only his eyes kept wandering down to me now and then, and every time I could almost hear his voice inside my head. _Go. Back off. Leave me alone._

I gave up after a while and switched to Levinny’s side again since a conversation with her promised to be way more comfortable and less one-sided. I admired her hair or at least whatever was growing on her head, most of all how the buds seemed to glow in the twilight of the trees.

“Those things on your head, the buds… Will they blossom some day? And how does it feel to have a shrub on your head?”

Levinny was shaken with laughter and her whole body seemed to glow even though the area around us should have still been too bright for her fluorescent features. She lifted her hands and plucked one of the buds and held it towards me in her open palm. I watched with amazement as it opened slowly to reveal bit by bit a wonderful pink bloom, and its inside glowed the same way Levinny did. She tucked the bloom behind my ear and giggled again because of my confused face.

“It’s hard to describe for someone who can’t feel it. I suppose plucking one of those feels similar to tear out a strand of hair? But I can’t tell for sure. What I know is that we have an effect on the way we grow up to a certain point. I can make those buds blossom whenever I want, and there are Sylvari who create their own clothing just out of flowers and vines that they have grown themselves. In almost the same manner we can influence parts of the nature around us, see?”

I hadn’t even noticed that we already had crossed the border to the Caledon-Forest. Only now that Levinny was pointing towards it I could see that the cubic formations had made place for huts and constructions purely made out of plantal materials. People hadn’t interrupted the natural way of growth, but had rather created living space together with the surrounding nature, as the houses didn’t only seem to have grown out of trees and plants, but they perfectly adjusted to the area and were partly hard to see for the unknowing eye.

The vegetation was the same as in Metrica, after all we were still on the edge to the deep Maguuma jungle, but something had changed. It all seemed to be more peaceful and natural, and judging by the many Sylvari crossing our way, the Grove couldn’t be that far away. I felt excitement grow inside of me, for although I had visited the Grove hundreds of times ingame, it had never been in this body and this real. Furthermore the memories of all those places I knew from the game seemed to fade slowly as long as I hadn’t visited them as Szallejh, and that made me wonder. The fact that I knew about Tyria’s near future had given me hope that I might be able to chance something about it. But now that it all seemed to vanish piece by piece, I feared that I would forget and fail.

_Maybe I should write down everything that I could still remember? But what if someone found those notes? What would I say? And what if things would happen different and I would only make a fool out of myself by trying to save something or someone? Or maybe I would make it even worse instead?_

“… don’t you think?”

Levinny’s questioning voice brought me back from my thoughts, and I stared at her in confusion. She laughed and I wondered how someone could laugh that much. Was she like that every day?

“What might possibly happen inside your smart little head right now? I said how calming it is that Sylvari and Asura can live in such close proximity to each other nowadays without having to fear for their lives. It has not always been like that.”

I knew that. Back when the first Sylvari had waken and not a single person on Tyria had known about those plant beings, the Inquest had started to kidnap dozens of saplings to perform terrible experiments on them, anatomize them and torture them to death. For a long time there had been hostility between the both races, and there had been plenty of losses on both sides, though mostly on the side of the Sylvari.

“You’re right. The Inquest has never had a good reputation, and much less if it comes to your people. Even though it really makes me angry that the stupidity of some has lead to prejudices a whole race still has to deal with. And the losses on your side are never to be compensated.”

Levinny didn’t need to know that I wasn’t only talking about the Inquest. Even in my home there had been similar incidents in history and I could only shake my head over the fact that it seemed to happen again and again and again, no matter in which world you lived.

“Even better that Asura and Sylvari get along so good then nowadays! We have buried our disputes; humans and Charr could learn so much from us. Oh, look, we’re almost there!”

Judging by the sun’s location, it had to be around midday; we had arrived at the Grove way earlier than I had expected. I stared at the view spreading in front of me speechless, and we hadn’t even entered the Grove yet.

Right inside the Caledon forest grew an enormous tree out of the soil, so big that I couldn’t see the whole of it, neither in height nor in width. The tree top seemed to disappear between the clouds, and I could see light in most diverse colors from hundreds of gashes and holes. The entrance was made out of a relatively small opening in the bark that we passed now, and from here a path was spiraling to the top in the trees inside. The inner was lit as light as daylight as well, as the bark around us was covered everywhere in plants that gave pulsing light inside the whole color spectrum, covering their surroundings in an unreal, almost fantastic aura.

The path seemed to continue upwards endlessly, but with every step we took, I could more clearly hear a sound that almost sounded like music. It was composed of countless voices that towered each other with their melody, and the play of the wind creating whistles and jingling by blowing through the numerous openings. All of that created a wonderful harmony, as if the most talented musicians in Tyria had gathered only to make music inside the Grove. But those sounds couldn’t be copied by any existing instrument in this world; it was the song of something way bigger, of a being that exceeded everything material. This was the song of the Pale Tree who had managed to create thousands of children that were to enrich the world with their peaceful and charming way.

I wondered where that knowledge in my head came from and why I had such thoughts wandering through my head, and obviously I wasn’t good at hiding my confusion.

“Don’t worry, most of the visitors feel the same the first time they enter the Grove. The Pale Mother knows everything that happens inside her home, and she fathoms the intentions of everyone whose presence isn’t known to her yet. She will instantly let you feel when she welcomes you – and when she doesn’t.” Levinny gave her ox a last gentle push so he would master the last part of our ascend, and after a few more steps we had reached the exit (or entry?).

The surreal singing was now omnipresent, but it didn’t bother too much as it was more like a background melody that you’d push to the back of your mind with time, but never completely forget. The Grove itself probably was the most peaceful and colorful place I had ever seen. Plants, lights, complicated structures made of the very same, and in the middle of all of it Sylvari going after their daily lives. There were other visitors too, from humans to Charr and even a few Asura, either trading or getting lost in conversations, and a handful seemed only to have come here because of the view.

Because from the Grove and with good weather, you had a grand view over Caledon forest and even a bit of Metrica, and while little details were impossible to see, if was a picture that had to be seen at least once in a lifetime.

Levinny and the mysterious stranger had started to unload the oxen and gave the empty bags to another Sylvari that came rushing towards us. While I watched the happenings around me with curiosity, I wondered what Sylvari made all day long.

“Hey, Levinny? How do you finance yourself within the Grove?”

Levinny gave me a confused look. “Finance? We don’t trade with money in the Grove, at least not amongst ourselves. All that we need we plant, harvest and manufacture and give it to those who need it. In exchange they will give us things that they made, may it be clothes, tools or weapons. No Sylvari has to hold down a steady job, the Grove has enough living space for everyone after all and the Pale Mother would never expect anything in return for it!”

“That makes life inside the Grove quite simple, doesn’t it?” Asura would never even think about giving something without having the own profit in mind. Most important was the highest possible enrichment for yourself – nothing more.

“Yeah, it is. If you’re satisfied with it.” She sighed and the smile in her face disappeared for a short moment.

“What do you mean?”

“Some of us feel the constant presence of the Pale Mother to be unpleasant or even burdensome, so they prefer to distance themselves as far as possible from the Grove. Some even voluntarily join the Nightmare Court or will turn away from Ventari’s wisdoms. Others aspire to something bigger that they won’t get here. Wisdom, success, power… our sister Ceara is a very good example. The Grove hadn’t been enough for her, and that’s why she searched for suitable masters all over Tyria. She has been in Hoelbrak, in the Black Citadel, and even the colleges of Rata Sum hadn’t been enough for her! She even joined the Inquest. But we haven’t heard a thing from her in a while, and that troubles me. She has something on her; not quite something evil, but there is potential. And when it is being wakened by the wrong person, then…”

A familiar voice cause Levinny to pause, and instantly the well-known smile returned to her face as if it had never been gone. But now I could make out a tiny spark of worry in the corner of her eyes that the smile wouldn’t reach. The name Cerara sounded familiar, and I had the feeling that Levinny’s assumption was right, but before I could think more about it, Nahraija was already hurrying towards us, beaming with joy.

“Draenen, my friend, so good to see you!” She gave the Sylvari a warm hug, and to my surprise he returned it with a tiny grin. Next she turned to Levinny and eventually knelt down to hug me shortly but tightly.

“Szallejh, how unexpected! What leads you to the Grove, and even more in such a company?”

She nodded towards Draenen, who took his leave with a short wink of his hand and led away the oxen together with Levinny.

“I made the decision to visit you yesterday evening, and on my way I’ve met Levinny and that droll fellow. Since we were headed to the same destination, I have joined them. Thank god I didn’t have to search for you first in all this hustle! I wouldn’t have known where to start.”

Nahraija gave me a weird look. “What god do Asura pray to tho? I always thought the Eternal Alchemy couldn’t be compared to any existing deity.”

Only then I realized what I had said and my face turned red. Of course didn’t Asura pray to any deities! Not even I did that, but I had heard that phrase so many times before in my life that I didn’t even think about its meaning anymore.

“Ehh, you know… I didn’t grow up in Rata Sum, and, eh.. Where I come from, people just say that. Seems I can’t get rid of those habits yet…”

The Sylvari shook her head, but my explanation seemed to satisfy her enough. “You’re full of tiny little secrets. And every day you add a new one. I hope that maybe one day you will tell me the secret of your origin.”

_It’s not that simple. You wouldn’t believe me._

“I hope that too.”

We were silent for a while, but Nahraija cleared her throat eventually and started moving. I just followed her without asking where she was headed.

“You’re right of course, Draenen is a interesting one indeed. He isn’t that bad actually; just when it comes to strangers he behaves quite weird. Maybe he just wants to convey a certain impression of himself, and I’m sure he just wants to compensate the frustration about his size that way.”

Nahraija’s laughter was catching and she asked me to report about everything exciting that had happened since we had last seen in Fort Trinity.

While we sat down on a bench at the edge of the upper platform, I told her about the morning after the party, about Bromm’s weird behavior, Aidans murderous training and my work in the Aquatarium.

“Maybe I should visit you there once to make sure you’re doing it good, hm?” Nahraija clasped her hands behind her head and winked. I sighed.

“That’s not necessary; Kekk is already doing that for you.”

“Kekk?” With raised brows she looked at me, and she didn’t even try to hide her curiosity.

“My neighbor. He came to the Aquatarium twice already just to hold me off from work.”

“Well, well, that seems suspicious to me!” Nahraija’s open and honest way was one of the reasons why I had embosomed her so soon, but now I rather wanted to curse her for her curious being.

“I’m not sure about that. Zojja has warned me that many male Asura would become interested in me as soon as they learned that Zojja was my aunt. Only because of the status that comes with it, and I’m sure that was the same with Bromm. Only that he probably expected my intellect to resemble the one of Zojja, and I had to disappoint bitterly in that matter.”

Nahraija thought about it for a moment. “But does Kekk know about it?”

“No clue. I have never talked to him about that. But we live in Rata Sum, and there’s no place on Tyria where news travel faster.”

“Maybe it does mean more indeed?” She giggled and slid nearer to me, impatiently waiting for an answer. I blushed hard again and averted my face, instead watching a few Sylvari on the platform beneath us.

“Dunno. But even if, I have just arrived in Rata Sum. I’m not ready for something yet!”

“No reason to pout.” She slapped my shoulder so hard that I had problems not to roll over, but that only increased her grin. “Maybe we should talk about something different. You said Aidan introduced you to someone after the last training?”

Cold shudders ran down my spine at the thought of the dinner with Aidan and Arrhakesh.

“Arrhakesh obviously is a good friend of his. He says that’s not unusual since Hoelbrak and the Black Citadel are quite close to each other…”

“Oh, a Charr? You have to introduce me to her! I think Charr are so interesting. Animals with such intellect!” Nahraija’s eyes were glowing like I hadn’t seen before, and I had no doubts that she would be fascinated and excited about Arrhakesh the second she met her. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea, at least that would safe me from the big cat’s attention.

“Right. I don’t know much about her, only that she is a necromancer and loves to eat shrimps. And she loves to put both on display.”

“Sounds great! I can’t understand why you’re making such a fuss.”

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. “Kesh is okay, I guess. But when she talks about wanting to eat you while you can see half of her skull exposed… you can’t deny that this can be kinda scary.”

“Yes, yes, very scary. But you definitely have to introduce that Charr to me! Under all circumstances!”

I couldn’t understand at all how such a kind-hearted being like Nahraija could develop such interest in a scary thing like Arrhakesh, but if she wanted to come with me on her own risk, I wouldn’t stop her.

“Sure, if you want to. Aidan wants to meet with her again in Lion’s Arch after the next training, and you’re free to come with us. If you can wait long enough that is.”

Nahraija shifted her weight and supported her arms on her thighs. The wind made the dozens of ribbons on her clothes dance, even though she suddenly was completely calm.

“I’m afraid there is a problem. Trahearne is going to travel back to Orr tomorrow to make sure the success of his Wyld Hunt can be permanently guaranteed. While he doesn’t have any duties anymore in these lands, he still feels responsible for Orr’s complete recovery. And now that Zhaitan is no more, the remaining Undead have to be silenced and even the slightest piece of putrid land has to be cleansed. And I want to help with that.”

“Oh… that means you won’t be in Maguuma for a while…?”

Nahraija nodded. “I don’t know yet how long we will be there. It can be weeks or months. No one can say that so far. Maybe I won’t get back at all, who knows… But Trahearne could never stay long in the Grove, and now it’s calling him away again. That’s why it was a sign of fate that you came to me today. Now I can at least say goodbye to you properly.” She smiled at me. “You’ve become such a good friend to me, after the time in the Shiverpeaks. And I promise you that I’ll visit you as soon as I’m back. And then you’ll bring me to your cat friend.”

“ _Friend_ might be the wrong term when it comes to Kesh, but yeah, that sounds like a plan.”

I felt a twinge of sadness. Nahraija had been one of the few, maybe the only friend I had in Tyria, and now she was about to leave to Orr for who knew how long. Maybe they would fail and haunt the lands as undead themselves in the end, who could tell? The dragon’s corruption was still present, and the hordes of undead roaming Orr were more dangerous than ever. Without the voice of their master they had no aim that they could follow, and like an animal that had become lost and was now fighting everything that crossed its path in its desperation, the Orrians too were more unpredictable and dangerous than in times of Zhaitan’s reign.

Besides, who could I talk to if not Nahraija? Of course there was still Zojja, but I didn’t want to hear every time that I didn’t know enough and was too dumb to understand.

Nahraija jumped on her feet and grabbed my arm, so sudden and unexpected that my heart made a jump too.

“You know what? Since we’re going to depart just tomorrow, I can show you around in the Grove a bit if you want.”

“Sure. But don’t keep me here too long, as I have to get to work again tonight!”

“Don’t worry, the Grove is not that big. And if you use the portals, you’ll be back in Rata Sum in no time. Why did you take the long way at all this morning? It would have been way easier to travel through the portals.”

I only shrugged as an answer. “Didn’t want to spend too much money, and I wanted to discover a bit more of Maguuma. Besides I had plenty of time this morning, and on a different way I wouldn’t have met Levinny and Draenen.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t have missed meeting the droll fellow or how you called him earlier.” Nahraija said with a grin and let me down some platforms until we had reached the lowest inhabited area of the Grove. We paused near a group of Sylvari while someone who surprisingly resembled Trahearne a lot asked for Nahraijas attention.

Meanwhile I watched the Sylvari in front of me. It where nine in total, and eight of them sat in a small circle around the last one. They all were sparsely dressed and didn’t quite fit to their surroundings. Only one of them didn’t stick to the lips of the Sylvari who looked way older and better dressed but stared directly at me. Her lips moved, but I couldn’t understand what she was saying. The longer she stared, the bigger grew her eyes and there was even something like fear, as if I had just hurt her. But I had never seen that Sylvari before in my life! Had I?

“Are you alright?” Nahraija had ended her conversation at that point and joined me again. She followed my eyes to the small group and the delicate dark-skinned Sylvari who still seemed to murmur something, but no one else seemed to realize her strange behavior.

“The way she stares at me… Eerie!”

“Of course she does. She has just wakened, and you’re the first Asura she’s ever seen.” With her explanation it all sounded so natural, and maybe that was the reason for the fearful impression in her eyes? I didn’t know how the Dream worked, but maybe she had seen the knowledge about the Inquest and their infamous actions and therefore was afraid of me?

“Do you know her?”

Nahraija turned to me with surprise. “No.”

“But… How do you know then that she’s still so young?”

She laughed. “Just look at her! Like a newborn that has only just started to grasp the world with all its wonders. Besides the Sylvari with them is Malomedies, luminary of the cycle of night. He teaches the saplings of night and equips them with everything they need to know for their knowledge. And he was the very first Sylvari meeting the Asura… and surviving their experiments.”

“That must have scarred him for sure. Is this why he wants to take care for the newborn? To warn them about my people?”

“Those times are gone, Szallejh. We Sylvari don’t have to be afraid of you anymore. Of course exceptions confirm the rule, but since the Inquest has stopped their experiments, the mass hijackings have stopped too.”

A startling thought came to my mind. “And what if they have never stopped? What if they have just become smarter? Manipulate Sylvari to get to them on free will, with false promises? Or if they just go for those who wouldn’t be missed afterwards? It doesn’t fit the Inquest to just stop with something only because the _good part_ of society tells them to.”

Nahraija watched me with worry. “Now don’t scare me! I don’t know any member of the Inquest in person, and I don’t mind if it stays that way. And if you ask me, I want to believe that no experiments are done anymore on Sylvari!” She was almost about to get angry and I was immediately ashamed for what I had said.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to upset you. It was just a thought, and… Maybe I should shut up next time.”

_Rule number… where had I been? 3? – Think before you talk!_

Nahraija shook herself as if to get rid of the thoughts. “It’s alright. You didn’t mean it that way.”

But I did, actually, because something inside of me told me that I was right. That somewhere, the Inquest was still torturing and murdering to get information. Only that they didn’t try to lure Sylvari to the Nightmare Court under certain circumstances, but there was something different, something bigger. It had something to do with corruption, a threat that came from the side of the Sylvari and was endangering the whole people, but like a giant wall there was something blocking the thought so I couldn’t get through to it. I knew that there was more. Something that the Inquest had already started to realize, but I couldn’t see it clear inside my head. There were just pieces of information, waking a worry inside of me, but giving no answers.

“Is everything okay with you? Do you feel alright?” Nahraija’s voice brought me back to reality the second time today now.

“Yes… no. I don’t know!” I shook my head in confusion, desperately searching for the right words. I wanted to tell everything so badly; who I was, where I came from, what I knew! And she would listen to me for sure and try to understand, but every time I had that thought, a loud voice inside my head screamed _No! It’s not the time yet!_ But when would I know that the time had come? Would that moment ever come after all?

“It’s just that I… know things. Or I should know them. But they blur inside my head, more and more, and they leave traces that impend to make me mad. The glimpse of a feeling, but I don’t know why and how. It gives me headache, because the knowledge should be there, but it’s locked. I can’t get access to it… Do you know what I mean?”

She kept silent for long time before answering. “Hmm… No, I’m afraid I don’t understand. But something seems to bother you, and if this information is locked from you for some reason, you might have to learn how to let it go. There is way too much going on inside your little heads anyway, you don’t need even more to bother.”

“But it’s something important, that I know! Someone needs this information, and I’m the only one who can provide it. Or not.”

“You don’t know who, you don’t know what, and you don’t know how. Why do you let it get to yourself then?” Nahraija put a calm hand upon my shoulder. The sight of it made me grin because she had to kneel down to reach to me, and this position looked quite uncomfortable. “Whoever it is, they have no use of you if you fall into madness. Give yourself a break from thinking, let the dark clouds inside your head move on and maybe you’ll get access again with time to whatever is missing?”

I laughed without emotion. “For someone who said she has no clue what I was talking about, you give quite good advice.”

She stood up again. “That’s what friends are for, aren’t they? Now come, I want to show you my favorite place!”

This attribute was something I really admired on Nahraija. Serious one moment, and within the blink of an eye full of life and energy. Beings like her were those who kept being strong in every situation of life, sharing this strength with everyone around them, and nothing could tear them down. For a short moment I wondered if someone like Nahraija ever felt bad.

The Sylvari had meanwhile started walking again and I had to run a short bit to catch up with her. Down here it was darker than in the upper areas, but there were plenty of glowing lamps and plants in every little corner, and fireflies whizzed scurried through the trees and the paths winded through dozens of small ponds glowing with silver light. It really was beautiful here, but almost too idyllic and peaceful in my opinion. The loud and crowded streets of Rata Sum had their very own flair, and mostly at night the Asuran capital could easily keep up with the Grove when it came to the play of colors.

We walked in silence for a while, only greeting other Sylvari now and then, until Nahraija came to a stand eventually next to a wall overgrown with moss, and I could see strands of crystal clear water run down here and there, burbling into a small pond.

“And this is your favourite location?” Slight doubts could be heard in my voice, because the corner we had arrived in had nothing special about it, and I was sure Nahraija had a better taste than that.

She answered with a feint laugh. “No, no, it’s not here. Not yet. This is only the entrance. I hope you can swim! And your backpack, is it waterproof?”

Luckily both of it was the case, even though I had to stare at the pond Nahraija had pointed to for a moment with confusion.

“We’re supposed to go through THERE? Do you have aqua breathes on you by chance? Because that’s something I don’t always carry with me.”

Nahraija ignored the sarcastic undertone and let herself gently drop into the water, emerging on the surface again only moments later. “Come on, it’s not far. You’ll be able to hold your breath a bit for sure.”

While I still didn’t trust her plans, I tucked one foot into the water, and the leather of my shoes soaked completely immediately. _Good: the water was warm. Bad: it would take veeeeery long for me to get dry again._

I jumped into the pond with a sigh and the sudden heavy weight of my soaked clothes pulled me under the surface for a while. I emerged one last time to take a deep breath, then followed Nahraija who had already dived down and was now swimming to the bottom of the pond. But shortly before she arrived at the ground, she changed the swimming direction and disappeared inside a small path shortly above ground that I wouldn’t even have recognized without her help. The doubts grew bigger the more I ran out on air inside my lungs, but sooner than expected the path made a turn and soon I found myself on the surface again, catching my breath.

Nahraija pulled me out of the water and loudly squeaked as I shook myself right next to her like a wet dog.

“What? You’re already soaked too!”

After my fruitless attempts to get rid of some of the water I looked around at the place Nahraija had brought me to. We stood on a small path that had sparsely been covered with stone slabs, and I could see the pond extending to both sides, obviously bigger than I had originally assumed.

This location resembled a small chamber, the high walls covered in moss, but instead of a roof there was the cloudless blue sky all over us. The path led to a kind of natural well, a giant stone where water poured down out of an unknown spring, gathering in a small basin before gushing into the pond eventually. Here and there some maple trees grew out of the ground, some of the trunks so high I couldn’t see the treetops, and others proudly made a show of their glorious red leaves. Now I understood why Nahraija liked to visit this place; in its simplicity lay something magical and calming.

“This is… really beautiful here! How comes that no one is here except us? And does this place have a certain purpose? I mean… there won’t be such a beautiful chamber for no reason, right?”

“Well, to be honest, only a few Sylvari know of this place. And those who know keep it their secret to preserve its beauty. A pity actually; such beauty should be shared with others. But we’re afraid that it loses its magic if it turned into an attraction, do you understand?”

I nodded. Something only remained special if not everyone knew about it or owned it. If the residents of the Grove only came here to keep conversations with others, this place wouldn’t be any better than any other spot in the Grove.

“And no one really knows why this well exists. Maybe it has been created by nature while the Grove was growing and growing, maybe the Pale Mother has planned something special for it. We can’t tell for sure.”

“Why don’t you just ask the Pale Tree then?”

Again this wry look. “Would a human simply walk to his queen only to ask if the neighborhood’s cat has an owner or not? Getting an audience by Mother is not that simple, and usually there are way more important matters to discuss. Even more if you don’t belong to the First- or Secondborn, you will rarely get a chance to see our Mother.”

It had been quite easy for me to walk into the Arcane Council and get an audience. But I was sure that Zojja had a status similar to a Firstborn, and with the right contacts it was always easier to get what you wanted.

“Now that you mention it… How old are you actually?” The question sounded dumb the moment I spoke it out loud, but the way Nahraija talked she didn’t belong to the first two generations for sure. But she seemed to be too wise to have wakened just a short time ago, so it had to be something in between.

“Younger than I wish and older than you might expect.” She said with a mischievous grin.

“What?”

“That might be one of the things I will tell you in course of time. Maybe.”

I snorted and tucked away a strand of hair behind my ear before it could fall into my face again. How old was I though? Were there differences between Asura and humans when it came to age calculations? Maybe with twenty I was grown-up for human standards, but would still be considered a child by Asura? Another question I had to ask Zojja next time I saw her.

* * *

We spent some more time at the well and Nahraija led me through the living rooms, workshops and gardens of the Grove, but as evening came it was time to say goodbye. Nahraija accompanied me to the portal to Lion’s Arch and gave me a tight hug when we arrived there.

Even though I still felt like a child being lifted by an adult, it still made me happy that I had found such a close friend in Nahraija in such a short time. _If only she didn’t have to leave for so long._

“May you do well on your journey! And may you return healthy and _alive_ , both of you!”

Nahraija grinned. “Don’t be afraid of that. Trahearne and I know Orr pretty well by now, and I won’t let myself being pushed around by some undead! The Priory has many outposts down there. Just write a letter whenever there is something new, some mail carrier will find its way to me eventually. And most of all when there’s news about your men problems, I don’t want to be the last to hear them.”

Again I felt the urge to push her down from a very high place. She just would not hold back her thoughts in whatever situation, not even in front of the gate monitors that kept grinning to each other.

There was a last wave of goodbye and I stepped through the portal. Lion’s Arch was way cooler around this time of day, and I shuddered a bit as I descended the ramp. But the portal to Rata Sum was not even ten steps away, and since the guard monitor knew me already he didn’t make me wait long until I found myself back in the hot jungle of Maguuma.

The salty air with its seagull screams and sound of the sea was immediately replaced by the rattling, beeping and yelling of Rata Sum, and I was quickly filled with the familiar feeling to be home. It surprised me that I had gotten used to this place so soon and kept calling it my home, while I was still searching for a way to get back to my old world. But in the end it was better to feel comfortable as long as I had to stay here. The other way every day would have been an unnecessary agony, and if I faced it as some kind of long holiday, I would even be able to enjoy some more of my time here.

I hurried down to the sleeping dorms, put down my backpack and tied up my hair to a huge knot. There had already been a complaint before because someone had found a long red hair on his lobster, and I didn’t want to have this kind of trouble again. After I had visited the washing rooms, I hurried towards the Aquatarium where Elynnja, the owner of the restaurant, was already impatiently tapping her foot while she unlocked the doors.

“You’re late. Arrange the chairs and clean the aquarium walls, alley-oop. Best before the first guests arrive!”

Elynnja’s hurry would have been unnecessary because even after all tables had been arranged and all panes had been cleaned, still no customer had arrived. Though that was not unusual at all; Elynnja always opened long before most Asura even thought about going out for dinner. She had her time schedule that she had to stay on, and for this she took the waiting times with joy.

I followed her will without complaining; she paid quite well after all and I always had some silence before the storm. For just on this evening an extraordinary number of Asura decided to eat in the Aquatarium after night had fallen and soon enough the rest of the evening was nothing but stress. Luckily for me there were no unpleasant incidents such as hair in food or switched orders, as the latter had happened to me many times during my first days.

Shortly before midnight when the tables emptied one after another, Elynnja approached me with her chef’s apron around her waist and cooking spoon in her hand.

“You are quick learner, I can’t deny that. There won’t be many more to come; you can start cleaning the tables now.”

That was more praise than I could expect from my employer, and I took tray and rag with a grind and begun to clean the chaos that the customers had left behind. But a “Hey!” let me pause in my work and my eyes fell onto the table next to me, where out of nowhere an Asura with dark messy hair and one red and a green eye had appeared.

“Kekk! What are you doing here?” I asked with mixed feelings, because on the one hand I really liked Kekk and was glad to see him, but on the other it was the third time now that he visited me at work, and I wondered if Nahraija had been right with what she had said after all.

“Well, it might be late, but I am still hungry and thought I could come by and…”

“Kitchen is closed already!” Sounded Elynnjas voice from behind the counter and she kept standing there ostentatiously with her arms crossed across her chest – and the kitchen spoon.

Kekk giggled and his look switched between Elynnja and me. “Okay then, I think a beer will suffice too.”

I put down the tray on one of the empty tables and hurried towards the counter to pass Kekk’s order. Elynnja still stood there and grimly watched our newest guest.

“That guy comes to my restaurant way too often. At least today he’s late and won’t keep you from doing your work anymore.” She pushed the beer towards me with a scowl and waddled back to the kitchen, where she threw the spoon into one of the sinks. One of the kitchen golems immediately answered with excited beeping and started to clean the spoon.

Kekk politely gave his thanks and took a gulp while I continued to clear up and clean the tables around him.

“You haven’t been in Rata Sum today, am I right?”

“You are. Have you been watching me the whole day or why do you know where I keep myself busy?”

He lifted his brows and exposed a row of sharp teeth, though one of whom was missing. I had to admit that it somehow looked cute.

“Wrong. I only know that you were not in Rata Sum. That doesn’t mean that I know _where exactly_ you have been.”

“All right, all right. I surrender. I have been in the Grove to visit a friend.”

“Salad heads, I see. Weird people if you ask me. Prefer mail carriers to messaging golems! I mean, honestly? Such a golem is way more effective and won’t bump into the next window it approaches! And why they don’t even try themselves on communicators will remain a mystery to me.”

His pouting face made me smile and I changed to another table after I had rearranged the chairs. “I don’t think any of those are effective. Why can’t someone invent something that is as safe as a golem but as fast and fitting for long distances as mail carriers at the same time? Take said friend as an example. She will spend the next weeks and months in Orr, and the only way to get to her is through a mail carrier. Who will take ages to reach the nearest outpost there if they arrive at all, and till the Sylvari has been found and the message has been handed over… In this time she most likely will have returned five times. We could use something better than just a simple mail carrier for such cases.”

Kekk dropped the mug and watched me with interest. It seemed like I had mentioned something that really made him curious. He rested his head on his arm and tapped a steady rhythm against the clay jug with his free hand. _Tak, tak, tak. Tak, tak, tak._ “You don’t have something specific in mind by any chance, do you, longear?”

I thought about it for a while. There was an idea indeed, but due to my lack of knowledge I had no idea how difficult or even impossible the realization would be.

“The problems with golems and mail carriers is that the communication goes only one way, right? Other communication devices can be used for dialogue, but the quality is miserable and a wide range impossible. Wouldn’t it be possible to develop the communicators further, maybe with signal boosters, to increase the range on a large scale? And wouldn’t it be even better, at least for small ranges, if you could transmit a holographic image of the collocutor at the same time with no delay?”

“Longear, this idea is genius! And if we manage to realize that, this could be the success of the decade! My krewe will manage to achieve a breakthrough with it!”

I dropped the rag slightly baffled. “You’re in a krewe? I thought you were still studying…”

Kekk emptied his beer and put it on the table together with some coins, and he even gave me an extra tip.

“Sure. Who says I can’t do both? Hey, what about I introduce you to my krewe tomorrow and you tell them about what you just told me? Maybe they want you on board with it, and if it’s going to be a breakthrough, you will never have to clean tables as a waitress again!”

I grinned. “That sounds like a plan indeed.”

“Until tomorrow, then, longear.”

Kekk got up, shouted a few more words to Elynnja and successfully evaded the kitchen spoon that came flying towards him immediately after, shortly waved one last time and disappeared through the restaurant’s door. For a short moment it seemed as if he would limp a bit, but before I could tell for sure, I had lost sight of him.

With a sigh I lifted the spoon from the floor and brought the full tray back to the kitchen where one of the golems immediately got stuck into cleaning the dirty dishes. While I rearranged the last tables and chairs for the next day, I tried to expand the idea of a modified communicator a bit more. I had no clue how it could be realized, but if Kekk’s krewe had the possibilities to do it and I could give the missing input? Maybe we truly could success and if it sold good enough, I could eventually quit this job here.

Though it seemed to be more a dream than reality, because whatever Kekk’s krewe would built, it wouldn’t be more than a non-functioning prototype and it could take ages to modify the system so it would work good enough to even think about selling it. I’d be bound to this job for a while longer no matter what, but at least I had a slight chance to get taken into a krewe. Unless of course the idea was completely useless or the other krewe members refused to take in someone like me. I couldn’t exclude such a thing, as I was a stranger after all, more even one without any graduation or awards.

The one way or another, it was useless to rack my brain with it now and to grow unnecessary hopes or fears. Not that I would have had any time for that, because as soon as the Aquatarium finally closed and I had dropped myself into my comfy hammock, sleep came so fast and without any warning that I didn’t even recognize anymore how my head touched the pillow.


	11. Hot Scent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seemed like I truly was the helpless little mouse – and Arrhakesh was the hungry cat when it came to the worst case.

„And you really use those to fly through the sky? Astonishing!”

“Over the clouds. Some of them even fly into space if you really want to know it.”

“Pah, don’t make me laugh! No human would ever be smart enough to make up something that hasn’t been invented by Asura yet.”

I sighed and shifted my weight on the table. Zojja had bolstered the top after my last accident so it would be able to easily hold my weight now, and thus it could remain my favorite place whenever I got to visit Zojja in her lab. Even though it injured my pride a bit that even a stone slab had succumbed to my weight… I really had to have heavy bones for Asura standards. Yes, that had to be the reason. There was no other explanation, was it?

At least Zojja had put away the destroyer body parts, and now they could happily swim around inside their preservative glasses, in a separate stock so I didn’t have to watch them all the time.

I thought about the technique back in my home with nostalgia. Air-conditioned cars, mobile phones, music wherever I wanted… “Oh, aunty. I wish I could take you home with me. You would like it there, I’m sure of it! And you would be surprised what humans can be capable of.”

Zojja turned her eyes from the monitor skeptically and eyed me from head to toes as if I had gone mad and had just escaped the asylum. “Of course.”

Without pausing, her fingers flew over the display, arranged data and formulated calculations, but I had long stopped trying to understand her work. I let my legs dangle instead and admired her dexterity.

“Let’s assume you could be right in the slightest to a low percentage with what you said. Why would you give such a genius invention a primitive title like _Air Plane_? I’m sure even a second year old will find more creative terms for an airship! And you want to make me believe that your humans can create machines that can advance into space? Obviously you’ve hit your head harder than I originally assumed.”

“Well. You’ll probably never find out the truth… How do you manage to talk to me and still don’t lose your train of thought after all with what you do there?”

For a short moment I could see the corners of her mouth turn up so I was almost sure she was smiling. “I’m a genius of Multitasking. Your own words.”

Suddenly my body went hot and cold simultaneously. I stared at Zojja with open mouth, causing her to pause her work for a moment and probably considering how she could get me out of her lab best if I was about to lose my mind.

“Zojja… where do you know that word from? Multitasking?”

Now she definitely had to think I was insane. With a quick move, Zojja paused the programs on her monitor and faced me, her arms rested on her hips. “My dear, a genius like me should be able to have all existing terms in their vocabulary that a small-brain like you can use, don’t you think?”

I shook my head, overwhelmed by the thoughts that were suddenly running through my head.

“No! I mean, yeah… of course, yes. But still you know its meaning! Where from?”

“Take a deep breath. I can’t use one more hyperventilating Asura inside my lab. It’s almost a shame to admit that I got it from a Charr who has crossed my ways before. I’m more surprised that _you_ have such a well-marked vocabulary.”

The weird feeling inside my stomach got stronger and I wildly brandished my arms in front of my face while I tried to explain it to Zojja.

“No, no! You don’t understand, Zojja. _You_ should be the one who shouldn’t be able to know the meaning of this term at all!”

Anger started to spread on Zojjas face. I could as well have just called her dumb, and her mouth was already opening, most likely to instantly throw me out of the lab, but I didn’t let that happen.

“I didn’t mean it like that. You shouldn’t know this term because it is a term that shouldn’t be known on this continent at all, because it originates from a language that doesn’t even exist in this world! Do you understand now what I’m talking about? This is _my_ language. From _my_ world!”

Zojja stood before me with disbelief and I could almost hear her brain working on maximum power. “You mean… that means… and you’re really sure about that?”

I nodded impatiently. “Zojja. _Please_ tell me that you can remember who that Charr was! Please! If it’s really what I think it is, then they’re like me. Maybe they know a way to get back! Maybe they can help me!”

A weird kind of emotion returned to her eyes again. “You honestly don’t expect from me that I remember every oh so petty face that has ever crossed my way in my entire life! But you’re lucky this time, because I do remember this Charr. Maybe it’s because he would’ve tried to eat me if I didn’t stuff his stinking mouth with my scepter beforehand.”

She scratched her ear and shook her head. “Honestly, if this Charr is supposed to be a human from your world, then I actually can’t understand why in Snaff’s name you want to return to that place.” With a feint sound she reactivated the display of her console and returned to sort her data with quick movements.

“Don’t judge a world only after meeting two single inhabitants of it.”

“It is a world full of humans and with no magic. I don’t need any more specimen to get an idea of how it is.”

I took a deep breath. The conversation was starting to get demanding, but at least I was about to get a seizable hint of how I could possibly return home. “Okay, well. We all are dumb humans on an even more dumb planet and everything without magic sucks. Understood. Still, could you finally tell me the name of this oh so stupid Charr please?”

“Asckar Ironclaw. You’ll find him in the Black Citadel if you’re lucky. But don’t raise too many hopes… This huge cat didn’t seem to be the most intelligent creature for sue. And I don’t believe that someone like that is able to open a portal into another world… Besides the whole incident happened five years ago, thus I can’t guarantee for anything. Maybe he’s long dead, started to eat himself or something like that…” _Or he has long returned to the place he came from._

Zojja didn’t say it out loud, but even though she thought it to be unlikely, it still was a possibility. If it really was true and this Charr, Asckar, had come to Tyria some years ago… My hopes almost crumbled to dust at this thought, but for now it wasn’t lost completely. I still had a chance.

“Thank you, Zojja. Let’s hope for the best.”

“You can hope. I will return to a more useful work until then. Report back as soon as you could convince yourself of what I have already told you.”

She said her goodbye with a short wave without looking at me, and I jumped down from the table and hurried towards the portal to Rata Sum while bumping into multiple lab assistants who only followed me with vicious eyes. I had to go to the Black Citadel immediately. Every heartbeat that passed by let my hopes vanish, and countless different worst case scenarios rushed through my mind.

Asckar called himself Ironclaw, what meant that he had joined a warband. Of course, after such a long time you had to build some kind of base to live a proper life. But what if he didn’t want to go back at all? What if he had accepted his fate already and accommodated to this world? Or if he really was long dead?

No matter what, there were no doubts that Asckar had went through the same as I. And even if I couldn’t find this Charr, it still meant that there could definitely be more people like me here! I just had to find them. And someone would be amongst them for sure who was willing to bring me back.

I was deep lost inside my minds so I only recognized Kekk as I heedlessly ran into him head first, tearing us both almost to the ground.

“Hey, long-ear, calm down! Where are you with your thoughts? I was already searching for you because I couldn’t find you in the dorms…” Kekk chattered happily while helping me up on my feet again.

I shook my head slightly dazed and stared right into Kekk’s expecting different-colored eyes. And then I remembered of course that he had planned to introduce myself to his Krewe today, because of the prototype which basic idea was still inside my head. Restlessly tapping from one foot to another, I glanced over my shoulder again and again towards the portal to Lion’s Arch, as if it could disappear any time now if I didn’t step through immediately.

“Kekk, I’m sorry, I… I don’t have time right now. I urgently have to travel to the Black Citadel, you know? I’d enjoy talking as soon as I’m back, but now-“

Kekk took his hands off my shoulders with surprise. “Oh, what could suddenly be more important? The prototype could change our lives! You could get rich over night and become one of the greatest geniuses in Rata Sum, don’t you care about that at all?”

“Right now? I don’t. I’m sure my absence won’t last long, and yes, that matter in the Citadel is friggin’ important for me now! You can still become the greatest genius in Rata Sum tomorrow, but I have the chance to change my life right here and now, do you understand?”

He moved a step aside to make way for me. “Sorry. Didn’t want to bother you then; you can say hi when you’re back. Can’t change your life quickly enough, eh?” He gave me his typical grin and I hurried past him towards the portal. The procedure of waiting and being controlled seemed to be longer than usual to me, and one or another sweat bead was running down my forehead as I finally stepped through the portal to Lion’s Arch. Without noticing the charm of the city I bolted directly towards the portal that would lead to Ascalon, but the portal guard – fat and reeking of sweat – stopped me.

“Where to?” He grunted seemingly bored and chewed on something that didn’t look delicious and smelled even more bad.

“Black Citadel, obviously.” I rolled my eyes impatiently and held my hand with the tag in it out towards the Charr. Why couldn’t he just let me through?

“Why?”

I almost wished I’d have taken my hammer with me so I could clobber it down on this Charr’s head. But I had left in such a hurry without taking a last look into my room and now had to pay the price.

“To… visit someone. Can I pass now, please?”

This answer seemed to be pleasing enough, and way too slow the Charr examined my tag and waved me through the portal. Finally.

I had never been to Ascalon before, not to mention the capital city of the Charr, and thus I was slightly overwhelmed while descending the ramp. The air was hot, sticky and filled with the scents of metal and way too many cats on one spot. It was dirty and loud, and besides there was the fact that I just felt tiny in between so many Charr. Even their cubs were taller than me already, and there was more than one curious look pointed towards me as I made my way over the bridge towards the Citadel.

Slowly I realized how imprudent my plan had been. I was searching for a Charr of whom I knew nothing but his name, on a place that was completely foreign and disgusting to me. How should I proceed? Just ask random people if they knew someone called Asckar Ironclaw?

There was no better idea coming to my mind. I’d have to search for the Iron-Warband first, and as soon as I managed to do that, the rest should be easy. At least I hoped.

As a result I found myself running through the metal buildings where rattling and cracking noises came from every corner, passing Charr that were training each other or testing new kinds of weapons that could have been able to blow away a whole village, and had a hard time trying not to get trampled on. The dirt in the air stuck on my sweating skin and strands of hair loosened themselves from the braid all the time, causing me to get more and more restless.

I had talked to multiple Charr already, but none of them had been able to help me. Most of them had only growled and ignored me, and some few had been willing to help, but none of them knew where the Iron-Warband was stationed at this time or who else belonged to it. Just at the moment I had taken seat on one of the walls to catch my breath as someone behind me called my name. I recognized the voice without seeing the face that belonged to it – and immediately wished I had never come here. Because this scratching, cold voice causing shudders to roll over my back again, belonged to no one else but Aidan’s scary Charr-friend Arrhakesh.

Slowly I turned my head and watched how Kesh heavily sat down on the wall next to me. She wore black trousers and a plain shirt today as well, though there was no creepy bone-decoration this time. Her hair was braided into multiple braids and hung loosely down the left side of her face so they hid most parts of the scarred flesh.

With every tiny movement, beads dangled in her braids as she eyed me with curiosity and while her split tongue wandered from one corner of the mouth to the other.

“What do you say, it’s the small rat that belongs to Baersson! What does the mousie have to do inside the Citadel? Did it get lost?”

Nondescript as possibly I shifted a bit away from her. Maybe it wasn’t that bad at all that I met Arrhakesh here now, since I had hopes she would be more willing to help me than the other Charr.

“Not quite. I wanted… to take a look at the other main cities, that’s all.”

Arrhakesh leaned back and sniffed the air with obvious joy. “Wonderful here, isn’t it? The Citadel is a masterpiece for all your senses! Only the scents of it!”

I sneered with disbelief. “Right. Only the scents.”

The Charr laughed and shook her mane. “So, little rat. What is the real reason you’re here?”

Was it really that easy to look inside my mind? As if she had read my thoughts, Kesh continued: “Come on, please. Such a tiny frightened mouse will never leave its safe nest if it doesn’t have to. And city tours through the Citadel are definitely no favorite activities of you rats. You don’t even know how to value all this art.”

“Maybe you should learn that rats and mice aren’t the same.” I murmured and regretted it already as the words left my mouth. It would be easy for her to eat me with just a few nibbles if she wanted to, and no one would bother to stop her. It seemed like I truly was the helpless little mouse – and Arrhakesh was the hungry cat when it came to the worst case.

But to my surprise, Kesh shook herself with laughter and gave me a huge grin, without any signs of bloodlust. “Do you think I don’t know that, little rat? But it’s all part of the same family, so it’s okay.”

“Actually, Asura are rather related to…”

“Well, well, well! Don’t you try to distract from the topic! Why are you here?”

I sighed. Arrhakesh wouldn’t let me go before I gave her a somehow satisfying answer, and I could use that for my own advantage as well.

“Alright. I’m searching for someone. But I don’t know where to start because the only thing I know about him is his name. Nothing else. You don’t know the Iron Warband by chance?”

Arrhakeshs eyes grew big with surprise. “Of course. Who exactly are you searching for?”

“Asckar Ironclaw.”

“Asckar…” She shook her head. “It’s Asckar Ironclaw you want? You chose your own death, little rat.”

I swallowed heavily. It sounded way more threatening coming from Kesh’s mouth, but at least that meant Asckar was still alive – and still in Tyria.

“What… what exactly do you mean?”

A dry and rattling laughter escaped Kesh’s throat. “There’s nobody I know who dislikes you rats more than Asckar. Most Charr already have problems with him, but such a tiny mouse like you? I bet three platinum bars that he has eaten you before you can say a single word.”

And there I had assumed Asckar had only tried to eat Zojja because of her annoying personality. Guess I had been wrong with that…

“But you seem to get along with him quite good, right?” Kesh nodded.

“How comes that if he has such a problematic personality?”

She snorted. “Why do you rats always have so many questions… I’m not quite normal too if you haven’t noticed already. Asckar gets along better with those who are likely weird and outcasts like him.”

 _The only difference being that_ you _are just an insane necromancer, while he comes from a completely different world. What do you call alike here?_ At that point I had developed a good idea of what to say out loud and what not, and this was definitely something I would keep for myself.

I took a deep breath and scraped my feet over the stone we sat on. Then I looked Kesh deep in the eyes and ignored the shudders running down my spine.

“There is no other way. I need to talk to this Asckar – alone.”

Arrhakesh exhaled a long sigh and got up from the wall. “Alright then, mousie. It was nice to meet you, and I mean it. I can get you to him, but I won’t dispose your corpse afterwards. Unless…” she paused for a moment and I saw her eyes gleam. “Unless you allow me to experiment a little… As soon as Asckar is done with you?”

“Of course not!” I panted in disgust and shook myself at the thought of Kesh abusing me for one of those ugly and terrifying bone minions as soon as I was dead. Why did I still stick around that Charr at all?

“What a pity. Follow me then.”

I didn’t watch my surroundings that much while I followed Arrhakesh through the streets of the Black Citadel, though I kept my security distance. The thoughts about what was to come didn’t make me feel comfortable at all, and as Kesh eventually lead me into the ruins of Rin, the dull feeling inside my stomach didn’t get better. But what had I expected in the first place? That a sociopathic Charr from a different world would reside in the cleanest bars of Tyria and not in some abandoned and dark place?

Kesh purposefully lead me to a bigger ruin that seemed to once have been a huge and famous temple of the humans, but now there was only a group of murky Charr sitting around a fire pit and roasting something over the flames that I hoped was nothing more than overgrown rabbits.

Turning on my heels and running away as long as I was back safe in Rata Sum was the only thing I wanted right now, but my body froze to ice as soon as seven grimly glowing pairs of eyes suddenly focused on me. Like back then in Sparkfly Fen when the Krait had attacked the lab, but this time I would do better. I took a deep breath and looked into the eyes of every single one, and no one had to speak it out loud that visitors were not welcomed here – me fewest of all.

“What do you want?” Growled a Charr with gray flecked fur whose body showed more scars than healthy skin.

Kesh pushed me towards them as if she wanted to say, _look, I brought you food. Help yourselves!_

“This little rat wants to speak with Asckar.”

A murmur went through them all and the looks that still focused me got even sharper. One of the Charr got up and crossed his arms. He had deep black fur with lighter stripes and revealed a very beefy body as he wore nothing but a leathery loincloth. His face was way too wide and his dirty grin gave sight onto a row of disheveled teeth. His horns were twisted in all directions and his likewise black mane towered upon his face in a greasy and matted clump. The only color came from a pair of yellow glowing eyes that faced me with such bloodlust that I already settled my affairs.

But I had come so far, I wouldn’t back down now. Thus I took another step towards him, forced my leaden feet to move and stubbornly returned the gaze to the Charr who seemed to be Asckar.

“Hrrrr. The rat shall speak.” He snarled and caused the other Charr to repeat his dirty laugh.

I shook my head. “No. Not here. I have to talk to you alone, in private.” My voice sounded way more confident than I felt inside, and I was thankful for it.

Asckar rose completely and snarled again, this time louder and more threatening.

“I don’t have to do anything, you stinking sewer rat! But I will eat you with pleasure if you don’t disappear out of my view right now, and we don’t have to be in private for that, I can promise you!”

Swallowing heavily, I stood my ground. No one had to tell me that Asckar would act on his threats if I didn’t find a way to arouse his interest soon, and not only the interest of his gustatory nerves. There was only one possibility, and if I had been wrong in the end and Asckar didn’t come from my world, I wouldn’t survive the next dawn. But I had to try it.

“Google.”

Eight completely confused pairs of eyes stared at me now, but if I read Asckars face right, I had completely hit the bull’s eye. I could almost see the rattling and heavy working inside of Asckar’s head until his eyes finally widened in a moment of recognition.

Everyone else would have found a more fitting term for sure to describe my home, but even though it definitely was a silly thing to do, it had worked. Asckar shifted his weight to all fours and made a jump towards me so I could feel his hot and stinking breath on my skin.

“Follow me. Now.” He snarled and ran towards a group of ruins, not seeming to care at all if I followed him or not. I exhaled a long sigh, relieved to not have been eaten immediately, and threw a last look at Kesh before following Asckar’s shadow almost disappearing between the ruins.

Split feelings filled me as he finally came to a stand, as we definitely were far away enough from the others to talk in private, but on the other side that meant no one was there to help me if anything went wrong.

As inconspicuous as possible I hid my shaking hands behind my back and leant against the cold stone of the debris to get some footing.

Asckar was running up and down in front of me, throwing evil glances towards me now and then. _Now or never._

“You’re exactly like me, aren’t you?”

Asckar paused and rose. “What do you want from me!?”

“How long have you been here?”

He growled. “Way too long. Years. And just as I seem to accept my inevitable fate, there comes a measly rat and brings it all back! You better have a damn good reason to do that, pest!”

“Do you know why you got here?”

“Do _you_?”

I shook my head. “No clue. I’ve come here two weeks ago, and I thought you might have a plan how to get back…”

The Charr let out a scream and suddenly swooped down on me before I could even react. Faster than I could realize, Asckar had pinned me high onto the wall with his claw and held me that way so I had difficulties to breathe. I struggled helplessly with my feet and tried to open the grip of his talons, but in vain.

“Two weeks! Two damned weeks! You pathetic pest, do you even have the slightest idea what it means to be stuck in here for several years!? To suddenly wake up inside the body of a stinking huge cat in a shitty world like this, without any clue how things stand here!? It took me years to get used to it, to understand all this and to find a somewhat good place for me! Do you really think I would still be here if I knew a way to get back? Damn it, I would kill! I would exterminate the whole friggin world if it would bring me back. And now you are here, you little pest, without any idea of what it means to be stuck in here for so long, and you dare to bring it all back into my mind. Do you know how they treat Charr that have fallen on their head so hard that they don’t even remember what Tyria is? What Charr are? No? Then let me tell you, the answer is not nice at all. And believe me one thing. If I ever find a way back, then I will kill every single one who ever dared to kick my ass before I leave. Starting with you!”

The rotten smell coming from Asckar’s mouth almost suffocated me and there was no air left through the tight grip of his claws, and slowly driven by panic I borrowed my nails into his fur, though it didn’t seem to bother him at all. My sight blurred slowly and the noises around me merged to a loud rush. I had raised all the long buried memories inside Asckar back to the surface and now he was making good on his threat to kill me. If only I had been smart enough to listen to all the warnings, but of course I hadn’t done that. Now I was going to pay the price for it.

Shortly before it all went black around me, the grip suddenly loosened and I slowly slid down on the stone wall, gasping for air. My lungs burnt like fire and with tears blocking my sight I could make out Kesh who stood in front of me with crossed arms and said something to Asckar, but the noise in my ear made it impossible for me to understand.

But whatever she said, it had let Asckar to leave me alive. He snarled one last thing though I only understood “… you will be first, sewer rat!”, then turned around and scurried past Kesh on his fours so fast he almost tore her down to the ground.

Unimpressed from his move, Kesh bent down before me and examined me closely. I blinked a few times and wiped away the tears from my eyes when a hard coughing attack shook my whole body. What would I have given for a tiny bit of water in that moment.

“Huh, you really made that one angry for sure! Told you it wasn’t a good idea. But hey, at least you’re still breathing. Halfway.”

I leant my head against the stone and closed my eyes. Every breath was nothing but pain, my throat hurt and I had managed to get my first deadly foe after nothing more than two weeks. _Good job, really._

“Thank you, I guess. If you hadn’t been there in time…”

“I have been watching you the whole time, to be honest. Didn’t trust you two being alone…. So I followed you. Asckars nose has to be really bad if he didn’t sense me from that distance.”

“Wait… you have been there the whole time!? Why didn’t you help me sooner?”

Arrhakesh scratched the fur behind her ears nervously. “I, well… I was stuck inside a moral dilemma, you know? Do I save you, or do I wait and get what’s left from you before it’s too late and use it for experimental purposes…”

I shook myself, though I couldn’t tell if it was because of disgust or anger. “You’re unbelievable! I almost died just mere seconds ago and you had nothing better to do than to ponder if my life is worth less than my dead remains? I really can’t understand what Aidan sees in you. That’s just disgusting.”

Another coughing attack shook me and my eyes filled with tears again. _I really should keep my distance from Charr in the future._

Arrhakesh seemed to be honestly hurt now. “That’s just the nature of necromancers. We’re fascinated by death and it makes us strong. But maybe you’re right; friends have way more use when they’re still alive… Though I can’t learn anything from your body this way. I’m sorry.”

She got up and tapped the dust off her fur. But with all the dust hanging in the air here it wouldn’t last long until all of Ascalon’s dirt would lie down on it again.

“Wait a minute… friends!?” She mentioned eating me and playing around with my soul, and that was what she called friendship?

“Eh, Kesh, I’m not entirely sure if…”

She interrupted me with a wink of her hand. “It’s okay. I’m not the best when it comes to things like that, I know.” She sighed, stretched out a paw to help me up and grinned. “I hope you’re not too disappointed about how it turned out with Asckar in the end.”

I rubbed my still aching throat with a chuckle. For a short moment I had really believed that Asckar would end my life now just because I had been too stubborn to listen to others – but here I was, still alive and with new hopes growing.

“No, not at all! It might not have been what I had expected, but I got some answers indeed.” And that wasn’t even a lie. I now knew for sure that Asckar had gone through the same as I, just a few years ahead of me. And even though he wouldn’t be of any help, it still meant that there were others out there, humans just like us. I only had to find and recognize them and call their attention, and then there would be a way to finally go home.

We walked back to the city together. On our way we passed the camp of Asckar’s gang, but it was empty by now and the fire was slowly dying. Asckar and his people had probably moved to another place to make some trouble and to eat the rabbits (which hopefully were nothing but rabbits). It was noon already, and I couldn’t show up at Elynnja’s as dirty and full of sweat as I was. Therefore and because I didn’t want to spend a single minute more in this place, I declined Arrhakesh’s invitation to stay at her home for a little chat. But Kesh at least insisted to accompany me to the portal, and on her way I finally asked her the question that had come into my mind earlier.

“Kesh?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you a member of a Warband?”

She laughed her dry and rattling laugh. “I have been, not that long ago. But they threw me out because I used the dead bodies of our comrades to call my minions.”

“Ouch.”

She shuffled along next to me, shrugging her shoulders. “What am I supposed to say… we needed minions to win the fight. And there were no other materials available. But most of the Charr seem to dislike the fact that they’re nothing more than materials when they’re dead.”

“That’s not only a Charr-thing, believe me. But I would have assumed if someone was ruthless, than it had to be the Charr…. I mean, your main city, built on top of the ruins of a once quite important human kingdom? I call that a lovely statement.”

And the Charr bragged around after all with the fact that they now ruled over the land that had once been inhabited by humans. I wondered if the conflicts between Charr and humans would ever be put down if they went on like this.

“Pah! Humans smell bad and they’re weak. You Asura are similar, but at least you have something inside of your heads. Aidan doesn’t have much brain, but he’s strong. Humans don’t have anything of that. They’re just worth filling your stomach. Or to rot, depending on whom you get. Hey, now that we talk about it… How many times would an Asura be able to eat from a human until the body is completely eaten up – or rotten?”

I quickly shooed the image out of my mind that had been caused by her words. Wouldn’t that make a cannibal out of me, eating a human?

“Gross! Can we _please_ change the subject?”

“I’m sorry. But you understand what I’m pointing at? Norn are strong. Asura are smart. Charr are the best. And humans are just weak.”

_Thank you very much._

Though she was not wrong with everything she said if I was honest. Norn were known for their strength and Asura for their knowledge. Charr were rather known for their ruthlessness, though I would never say that out loud next to Arrhakesh. Humans had nothing of that. There were smart ones, there were strong ones, but I couldn’t find a feature that applied to the whole race no matter how hard I tried. Not even their exquisite taste that Kesh seemed to find in them.

“What about Sylvari? You didn’t pay any attention to them on your list.”

Arrhakesh weirdly looked at me. “Those plants are strange. Can’t really estimate them yet, but until some years ago there was one who seemed to apprentice to Asagai. I didn’t see her that often, but I’m sure she is not completely sound. She disappeared at some point, and I never heard from her again.”

Again there was the bad feeling inside of me that I had already felt back in the Grove as I had talked to Nahraija about a similar topic. It had been the same Sylvari we had talked about, I knew that.

“Scarlet…” The name appeared out of nothing, without any context. It had something to do with that Sylvari, I knew that, but as soon as I tried to think more about it, the memories fled into impalpable distance.

Kesh shook her head. “No… no, I don’t think this was her name.”

But I knew it better. Ceara… Scarlet… The same person. She was dangerous. But why? It had something to do with the jungle dragon. I saw a blurred picture of Trahearne, shackled in tendrils, but as soon as I tried to dig deeper into the memory, an infernal pain blasted my skull and I held my head with a moan until the pain died down a bit.

“Everything alright with you?” Kesh had stopped some feet away and had realized I wasn’t following her any longer. She bent down to me with worry and laid her paw upon my shoulder. Why was there such an invisible wall whenever I tried to remember?

The thought didn’t leave me be, not even as I laid back into my hammock after taking a shower and changing the clothes. I let the day pass by again while I slowly let the hammock rock from side to side.

How did I know that Mordremoth was the next dragon to rise? Where did the bad feeling come from whenever someone was talking about Scarlet?

It was as if someone or something didn’t want me to remember. Should I resign or should I fight against it and get back the memories that were denied from me?

I didn’t know the answer, but one thing was sure. While Zhaitan had been slain, Tyria was long from getting its well deserved rest.


	12. The Cybernetics-Krewe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had been hard enough to convince Elynnja that I’d wanted to wear a scarf during work despite the tropical temperatures, as I didn’t want to tell her that I had almost been crashed by an angry Charr-human. Elynnja took me for a weirdo already anyway, so a scarf in summer wouldn’t make much of a difference anymore.

I woke up the next morning because someone was banging his fist against the neighbor’s door so hard that I thought he would destroy my door too in one go. With a sigh, I cast aside the blanket and stretched my body. Even though the day before had been challenging, I felt surprisingly good considering the fact that I had almost died. And I’d feel even better for sure after taking a shower and getting dressed. Thus I grabbed a pile of clothes and while still wearing nothing but underwear, I ran towards the washing rooms. The hallways were busy already, like every morning, and no one really cared for the others around them. Which was no pity at all, because on my way out I had thrown a last quick glance into the mirror, only to see that the bruises on my throat had become much worse over night.

It had been hard enough to convince Elynnja that I’d wanted to wear a scarf during work despite the tropical temperatures, as I didn’t want to tell her that I had almost been crashed by an angry Charr-human. Elynnja took me for a weirdo already anyway, so a scarf in summer wouldn’t make much of a difference anymore.

While another asura was just tearing the door open and swaggering out, I used the opportunity to slip inside and was immediately welcomed by a dense damp cloud. The hurry was most in the mornings, and right now all PeDACURs were occupied, so I took my time taking off the underwear and throwing some of the clothes inside the washing machine. To pass some more time, I tried to unravel all the knots inside my hair while waiting.

After just a short time I could hear the already familiar hissing of an opening cabin door, and as I turned around to make use of the now empty cabin, I suddenly faced Kekk who was standing right in front of me, naked as a jaybird and grinning from ear to ear while he examined me through the fog.

“What do you say, good morning, long-e-! Oh, in Oola’s name, what happened to you!?” He was most likely talking about my throat, as his grin immediately turned into a shocked expression.

“Just had a slight variance, I’d say.” I told him with a shrug, while I tried not to stare too much at Kekk’s body. I could still sense the human inside of me when it came to this, because I wasn’t used to take nudism in stride. Asura didn’t have such a sense of shame when it came to their bodies, and nudity wasn’t something that had to be hid or mocked. Different situations were sexual matters, and as long as those didn’t proceed on purely scientific bases, they were completely taboo in public. I didn’t get the sense behind this, but I would have to get used to it – like so many other things.

“It looks like a bigger dispute to me!” But the grin returned to his face, and Kekk smoothly rubbed his hair dry with a towel. I used the moment of inattention to examine this Asura a bit more closely, and tall was definitely the most fitting term to describe him, the more so as the movement put more body parts in motion as well. I felt my face blush immediately, but the steam was able to hide it almost completely – otherwise I’d just have pinned it to the heat in this room.

But while Kekk was running over the hallways half naked most of the time, I only now realized how muscular he really was. And dozens of large scars covered the muscles on chest and stomach, as if he had gotten into a hard fight some time ago and had barely managed to come out of it alive. Black stripe-like patterns ran from his forehead to his back, back to the front at hip height and were then wriggling down on the inside of his thighs until they met at the ankles and faded on the middle toe. This pattern now seemed to be a piece of art to me, and with every tiny movement the lines seemed to dance. At least that was the case on his left leg, as the right one was covered in something that looked like shower proof bandages from the knee downwards.

Kekk threw the towel over his shoulder and slipped into a pair of shorts that were too tight, and I had to clear my throat to tear my eyes away from him.

“Well, it looks worse than it really is, I guess. At least I feel good, apparently.” I was keeping myself busy with my hair right now so I wouldn’t be tempted to look again.

“If you say so.” Kekk laughed. “But now that you’re obviously back in Rata Sum, you can visit my Krewe later! What do you think of that?”

“Sounds good.” From the corner of my eye I could see another Asura opening the door, and I slowly moved towards the only empty capsule to make sure I wouldn’t have to wait any longer. “Where can I find you?”

The towel was purposefully thrown into the designated basket while Kekk didn’t look away from me. “Just get to my room; I’ll bring you to the lab from there.”

And as he strolled past me he decently slapped me across the backside, I almost stumbled into the empty PeDACUR, because now there was no way the damp air could hide my blushed face anymore.

By that time I had managed to find out how I could extend the pleasant procedure, and thus I enjoyed the interplay of hot water and energy for something that felt like eternity. Thanks to Zojja I now knew that the water got its unnatural blue color exactly because of the special kind of magic they used. Not only did it have an extra cleaning effect, but it also caused the water to feel softer and more comfortable on the skin. I’d have spent even more time inside the capsule if there hadn’t been multiple Asura gathering in the washing rooms, waiting for a cabin to empty. I couldn’t recognize any faces through the milky glass, but I didn’t want to be the one blocking the whole bath, so I stepped out as soon as the cabin door opened with a hiss and another, very small Asura immediately slipped past me.

I grabbed one of the towels with a sigh to rub my hair dry with it and then took the now clean and dry clothes out of the washing machine and got dressed. I hurried to get out of the damp air as soon as possible to avoid the freshly cleaned clothes getting damp again, and then I ungallantly dropped myself into the hammock to get on my shoes. There was not much planned for the day, so maybe it really was a good idea to visit Kekk and his Krewe. The next training session with Aidan was planned tomorrow, and Zojja was glad for sure to get at least one day to rest from my presence. I’d still have enough time to tell her about Asckar and my insight in the evening before work.

The thought of the last evening made me giggle. Even though I had been incautious, it all had been a close shave. Arrhakesh had listened to the whole conversation, but she had told me later that day that she hadn’t been able to understand most of what Asckar and I had talked about. Without noticing, we both had fallen back to our old language even though I hadn’t even noticed talking in some other language than my native tongue! It seemed that my head was automatically translating everything into Tyrian, except those few words that only existed in my tongue and not in New-Krytan. That’s why during our goodbye at the portal, Kesh had asked what “Gougel” meant, and under heavy laughter I had tried to explain to her that Google was some sort of archive-golem that had access to almost any information with breathtaking speed. This explanation had been enough for Kesh and luckily for me, she didn’t ask further why no one knew about this term except Asckar. She also didn’t ask why we had suddenly switched to another language, and I thought highly of her for this. But Arrhakesh had her own little secrets too for sure and thus was particularly good at keeping secrets of others. And it was kind of calming that she still didn’t know the whole story behind my existence. Maybe I’d be able to open myself to someone else than Zojja someday, but the day hadn’t come yet – if it ever would.

Although there was one thought that didn’t let go off me. The fact that we had talked in the same native tongue could only mean that Asckar came from the same country as I. But what if I met someone who had lived in another country? Would we still be able to talk in both our native tongues or would our brains be wired to Tyrian language with our mother language being untouched? It triggered me to find out, but therefore I had to find a method first of how to identify humans like me.

 _One thing at a time._ Kekk was waiting for me already for sure, and before he would blow up something out of boredom, I decided to make an end to his waiting. I quickly shouldered my backpack, in which I always carried a bunch of extra clothes since the accident at the United Arcanists Lab, closed the door behind me and knocked on Kekk’s door. It opened the same moment my fist touched the wood, and Kekk greeted me with a huge grin. He was still running around naked from the waist up, but at least he had switched to some wider pants. I couldn’t decide if I should be glad or disappointed for it.

“Well well, there you are! Did you get lost on your way?” He said jokingly while quickly throwing over a rumpled shirt and led me out of the sleeping dorms to one higher platform, where most of the labs were located. It almost seemed as if he was limping a bit while walking, but I wasn’t sure if it was just my imagination.

“How comes you are leader of your own krewe?” I asked on our way as Kekk didn’t seem to be much older than me, and while most young Asura had already joined a krewe, they rarely had a leading position.

“Providential interposition, I’d say. Had the right idea, the right people, and the right sponsors I suppose, all in the place at the right time. We might be small, but in relation quite successful! Might be because there is not much opposition in that field.”

Had Kekk ever told me before what his krewe was doing? My asking face seemed to be enough, because he continued without a single word from my mouth.

“We create prosthetics. The best in Maguuma, I insist. Maybe even all throughout Tyria. There are some Charr who have a reasonable nose for it too, at least they’re beating each other up so much; no wonder they lose a body part now and then! But they’re primitive compared to us, we are precision and Magi-Tech in the latest state of research! And we do everything. From whole feet to a single claw, and not long ago we even had a nose on order! Can you imagine that? A prosthetic-nose! It was a rather desperate old coot. Said something about losing his nose in a fight, but if you ask me, it rather looked as if he couldn’t handle his fork the right way…”

Kekk continued to talk about the weirdest orders the krewe had gotten during the whole way, until we finally arrived at a metal door where huge letters said _Cybernetics-Krewe_. Kekk tore open the door without a knock and hot metallic air greeted me, causing me to blink multiple times before I could see properly again.

I closed the door behind us and tried to get an overview of the room, but luckily for me, Kekk took me by the hand and pulled me forward.

“Well then, long-ear, welcome in the Cybernetics-Krewe!” He said happily while he showed me around in his lab. Huge displays were blinking and beeping everywhere, and in every corner I could see prototypes and dozens of tiny golems tried to follow up with clearing all the mess. Two of the Asura inside this room were already known to me through the visit of the catacombs: Varna, who was screwing around on a quite extravagant looking hand prosthesis and Meppo, who was just racking his brain over some blueprints. The third Asura was particularly interesting because she stared at me with glowing red eyes as if she was putting me on a trial. Her skin was grayish and traversed by muscles, and I was sure this one was better in fighting than anything else. Her rust-brown hair was bound together in a simple braid, and her ears showed some flaws already. But what was the purpose of an obvious warrior inside this lab?

“Long-ear, this is Eddda. She might be a member of this krewe, but you won’t see her inside the lab that often. Eddda prefers to test new prototypes in, eh… let’s say, field experiments.”

I gave her a sheepish smile and murmured a “Hey, Edda. Nice to meet you.” But in the next moment her face changed into a grimace and she stormed towards me with a speed that I wouldn’t have given such a delicate figure credit for. I reflexively recognized some of her moves because Narru had used the same during our training back then, and I automatically dodged and in the same second beat the side of my hand against the Asura’s neck, so hard that she lost her balance and tumbled over the floor.

In this moment I couldn’t say who of us was more stunned: Eddda, who hadn’t calculated on a counter attack; the viewers who hadn’t expected anything like this or me being surprised by my own move. _Seems like the training wasn’t useless at all_ , I thought with a grin.

The other Asura grinned too after she had recovered from her surprise. She got up with a sweep and patted my shoulder. “Not bad for a beginner. Wanna be a warrior too, eh? Really not bad. But remember this: it’s Edd-da. Not Edda. Understood? The punch will be harder next time, I promise!”

I blankly stared at her. That had been the reason why she had attacked me? Because I had pronounced her name wrong? I shook my head with amusement. What weird personalities I had met during my short time in Rata Sum already… It seemed as if a huge part of this race truly wasn’t completely sane. What definitely made me a part of them.

The moment Eddda moved her hand through her face I recognized the prosthetic that replaced the whole of her right arm. It was designed elaborately and was worked so precisely that it didn’t only exactly look like the metallic rebuild of an asuran hand, but it also probably would make possible even more precise fine-motor skills than a hand made of flesh and blood.

While I still examined Eddda’s prosthetic, she screwed it off on her wrist with ease and replaced it with one that Varna gave her. This one was way less elaborate but that didn’t seem to impact the functionality. Eddda grabbed a huge mace that had leant low-key against the corner of the lab and bumped into me while she ran past me to tear me out of my stunned stiffness.

“I’m off then, testing the new piece a bit.” She swung the mace way too close to my head to demonstrate her words and left the lab with a big grin.

Varna had already continued to work on another piece, this time for a foot, and Meppo seemed to have finally understood his blueprints. Kekk casually leant against one of the desks and was playing with a screw that must have lain next to him while examining me with amusement. Only now I got aware of the fourth Asura whose presence I had completely forgotten during Eddda’s extravagant show.

The Asura scanned some data on one of the displays and I wondered how I could have missed her in Rata Sum until now. Grey-brown hair had been put into two high braids and her violet glowing eyes scurried over the lines carefully. Black patterns decorated her otherwise extremely pale and colorless skin, and together with pink and purple clothes that had more ribbons and glitter than the wardrobe of the human queen, she was truly an eye-catching (while not beautiful at all) view.

“Long-ear, this is Ronnée. Co-founder of the Cybernetics-Krewe and daughter of the legendary golemancer Snaff.” The Asura gave a short wink without looking away from the display (which reminded me a lot of Zojja), and ignored the coughing attack that shook me because of the surprise. Snaff had a daughter!? Did Zojja know about it? She had never mentioned something in that direction…

Kekk cleared his throat. “Shocking, isn’t it? Only a few know. Ronnée doesn’t like to talk about it, but it always makes a good first impression, you see?” He laughed. _One more who doesn’t like to talk about their origins. Almost like me,_ I thought, and without thinking further, I asked: “Who is your mother?”

Finally Ronnée turned around to face me, and her big eyes glinted skeptically. “Who wants to know that?”

I played around with my ear in embarrassment. That much for a good first impression. Varna and Meppo hurried to get after their work, but I knew exactly that they were listening closely to our conversation.

It wasn’t easy to find the right words. Asking such a personal question to a complete stranger had been dumb, most of all when the subject seemed to be uncomfortable anyway.

“Well, I… Zojja is my aunt and she has been… quite close to Snaff, that’s why I’m confused that she has never mentioned you…”

“Because she doesn’t know.” Ronnée simply countered. “And besides I have never heard of you before too, even though you’re related to such a famous person like Zojja!” Cynical, but she wasn’t wrong with that.

As I continued to plainly stare at her, she sighed and stemmed her hands on her hip. “Listen. Your Zojja doesn’t know everything, and I’m sorry if that destroys your world view. But there are reasons for keeping it out of the public. It was a kind of… let’s call it a failed experiment. My mother has never contacted Snaff again ever after it happened. He probably didn’t know about his daughter until the day he died.”

To underline her words, she turned around again and continued to study her data. I was surprised how openly she talked to me despite the dismissive impression she had on me.

Kekk hummed awkwardly to bypass the uncomfortable silence. “Hmmm. Well, long-ear, you best tell the rest of the krewe about your idea that you have told me about. This could be another break-through for our krewe, especially since it’s going into a completely new direction!”

And well, I immediately had the attention of everyone. Except Ronnée.

“Eh, so, I… I think the messaging system via mail pigeons and golems is quite impractical, and communicators already available on the free market are not the best either. Why not develop some kind of image-and-voice communicator? Something that maintains its quality over long distances, maybe through transmitters on the way? And thus something that would be able to transfer holographic images in real-time?”

I might be stupid for Asura standards, but the interested views that I got were enough proof that it sometimes could be helpful indeed to transfer ideas from one universe to another. Even though I would have never admitted that of course.

“We could use the present concept of the communicators for the sound and just extend it to higher standards, and there has to be a way for the images to optimize the recording devices of the sender so the holographic display can be rendered simultaneously to the sound.”

While I had no idea how to implement such an idea, this would be the job of Kekk’s krewe members. I gave the idea, they did the job.

All fell into thoughtful silence for a moment. Then it was Meppo who clapped his hands over his head. “This is so primitive that it could actually work!”

I grunted. “Humph. Thanks… I guess?” Not quite sure how to understand Meppo’s comment, I threw a glance into the group. Even Ronnée, who had her eyes still turned towards the display, had her ears focused in my direction. Kekk laughed. “Hey, that’s quite an extravagant way of thinking for a Norn.”

“You have to speak from experience. Tell me, Kekk, how many Asura do you know that have grown up between Norn?”

“Enough to be positively surprised.”

Kekk wandered back and forth, most likely to think about the realization of my idea, and now that he was running around inside the lab without a pause, I again spotted the slight limping. This time it seemed to be the right moment to ask.

“Hey, Kekk? May I ask why you limp like this?” Ronnée snorted, but this time I didn’t care about my blunt intimate questions. Kekk was the last to be offended by it. If anything, he seemed to be happy that I wanted to address this topic.

“You see…” He pushed up the right side of his trousers and there were no bandages like I had seen in the morning, but instead there was a complicated looking construction made of metal and other shiny materials connecting his knee with his foot. It wasn’t the first time I saw a prosthetic as I had seen many of them even outside the lab, but it still surprised me seeing it on someone I knew. Had everyone inside this krewe lost a part of their body? Eddda her right arm, Kekk his leg…

Kekk pulled the fabric down again and sat down on one of the tables to start a sketch, maybe for our new prototype. “I loved to play around with wild animals when I was a progeny. One time I guess I played a bit too rough as I quickly learned. A wolf shredded most parts of my lower leg and I can be lucky that I could get out of this alive. But at least this is how I got to building prosthetics and this baby here-“, he pointed towards his leg, “was my entry ticket for the college of dynamics!”

Meppo gave me a chair and I thankfully sat down between him and Kekk. With hundreds of Asura living inside of Rata Sum and Tyria I could have met the meanest personalities of all and directly throw myself into disaster. But instead I had met one serendipity after another – starting with Zojja, who had befriended me without hesitation, over Nahraija, who seemed to become some kind of best friend to me with her quirky, life-loving and just gentle personality, to Kekk, who would have had so many opportunities to exploit me already but he never did. Maybe I would have ended as an Inquest-experiment, if the wrong eyes had seen my arrival to Tyria. But now I had a bed, work, friends and maybe even a krewe. Maybe it wasn’t that bad at all to stay here? At least for a while?

During the rest of the day, Kekk asked me many questions about the prototype that we wanted to build; and even if I didn’t understand half of what he and the others said, it was a good feeling to have contributed something. Shortly after Varna had gotten lunch for all that resembled fried noodles with eggs and Meppo and Ronnée were just discussing how they could put up transmitters throughout Tyria that were not only weather-proof but also could stand against other situations as well, like attacks from animals or bandits, the door was torn open and I startled so much that I almost covered the whole table with my food.

It was Eddda who stormed into the room, the prosthetic of her right hand completely torn and the face covered in sweat, but she was gleaming with happiness as she threw the mace into the corner with sway and plonking the destroyed prosthetic onto Varna’s table.

“You should take platinum next time, should be more stable. This one was crap, but I have been able to beat up a Charr completely behind his horns! Oh, food.”

Still grinning, she reached for her own prosthetic and screwed it on again, then she grabbed the only food box that was still available. While she loudly supped her noodles, Kekk told her about my plan in detail and what they wanted to do for the first prototype. Eddda hummed in agreement.

“No fad iwea iww you afk me”, she murmured with full mouth.

The members of the krewe came to the conclusion that they wanted to test the image-and-sound transmission over short distances on the prototype first, and as soon as that was optimized, they would develop the system so it would work flawlessly on longer distances. Eddda didn’t seem to understand more than I from what they said, and as soon as they went too deep into detail, both of us stopped listening. Eddda instead told me how she had gotten her mace – that she had always loved to sit on a tree and throw cherry stones at Ettins, but some day the branch had snapped and thrown her right in front of the feet of a very angry Ettin. Somehow she had managed to wangle the weapon off the Ettin’s hand and pull it over his head, and since then the mace was her favorite weapon.

“Of course I have long stopped using the old stinky thing, but the system remains the same. What weapon do you use?”

I hadn’t tried any other weapon except the hammer yet, but somehow I knew that that wouldn’t be necessary at all. As soon as I would be able to properly swing the hammer, I wouldn’t even feel the need to try anything else. Hammer and mace were not too different when it came to the fighting system, and Eddda promised to bring me to a reputable weapon merchant once I had learned the most important skills.

“There comes a time when every warrior needs a good weapon that is exactly adapted for their fighting style. You can’t fight with the cheap scrap forever, and most people don’t sell anything better in the street corners. But if there’s someone who really knows about weapons, then it’s Leo. She loves to build things from scrap most of the time, but if you’re searching for really exotic weapons, she is the right one to talk to. It’s just hard to find her sometimes because she’s always travelling around and rarely in the Citadel.”

Eddda was incredible. She was friendly indeed, most of all since I was on a good way to become such a warrior like her, but as soon as I pronounced her name wrong – which happened more than once during that afternoon – I either received a head butt, a hard blow between the ribs or both.

As it got late I said my goodbyes to visit Zojja before I had to get to work. Kekk forced me to promise that I would come back the next day so he could show me how far he had gotten on his prototype, and Ronnée dismissed me with “no words to your aunt!”

As not expected otherwise I found Zojja inside her lab, this time though the console was shut down. Zojja knelt on the stone slabs instead, the face bend over a golem whose inside was open. I couldn’t say if she was disassembling or assembling the golem, but seeing all those little parts I really respected all those who knew anything about golemancy.

“Hey, auntie. I’m back. And I’m still alive.”

Zojja threw a quick examining glance towards me. She didn’t seem surprised about my presence; after I had visited her almost daily during the last weeks, she most likely calculated on my arrival all the time.

“I can see that. Though barely, as far as I can tell.”

I snorted. This was more than I had expected. She could have said something like “told you”, and I thought highly of her biting back such a comment. Even though I was sure that she _had_ to bite it back with difficulty.

“Did you achieve anything other than looking like a hanged woman?”

“Many things, actually. Asckar is indeed one of us.”

“One of _you_? How many of you are there?”

“That I don’t know, but if Asckar is like me, then there have to me others too. I know that, and now I only have to find a way to identify them. I need someone to talk to about all this… When I came here, I already knew about Tyria. Asckar didn’t, that’s why it hit him particularly hard. But I knew what was going to happen, from the first moment until years in the future. Although something has happened to my head, the same way something has wired Asckar’s and my head to your language, and every time that I try to remember there is some kind of blockade. And it’s getting stronger with every day passing by. I don’t understand. I should be able to know exactly what is going to happen, should be able to remember! It has been like this with Zhaitan. And my memories stretch further. At least they should. I have this feeling, foreshadowing, when I hear certain names or see certain places. But every time I try to reach those memories, there is this wall shielding the memories from the rest of my thinking! If I could breach this wall, maybe I would be able to change some things…”

“And where should that lead to?” Zojja asked with calm voice and stopped her work on the golem to look at me with serious eyes. “My dear, I think it’s rather some kind of protective function. What do you want to achieve by changing the future? Don’t you think that you might only make things worse? By changing something to protect it, you only cause more damage in the end. Everything has its place in the Eternal Alchemy, and some things just have to happen.”

I shook my head. There had to be a reason why I was here, and maybe it was exactly that. That I had come to Tyria to change something!

“That can’t be. What if I had come early enough to prevent Snaff’s death? Wouldn’t that have been much better, for everyone? Most of all for you!”

I could see sadness in Zojja’s eyes for just a heartbeat. “But you were not. You couldn’t prevent Snaff’s death, and no one else was able to. The events have happened, and if they hadn’t happened like this, many things probably wouldn’t have followed the way they did and who knows how the world would look now. I think your memories are blocked so you can’t turn the way of the world into something worse. Only after events have actually happened, the memory will return. And who tells you that it will really happen the way you remember it? And what happens at the point where your memory ends?”

I didn’t want to find out at all. The run of events had been way more progressed in my world at the time I had come here, and I planned to be long home until the Tyria that I knew now had followed up. I remembered that the plot in the game had already covered five years, and right now I was in year one so to say.

But what if Zojja was right? If the blockade truly was some kind of security mechanism so I wouldn’t make things worse? Could I even make something worse with just trying to save someone’s life?


	13. A Twinge of Conscience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My eyes fell upon the three dead wolves lying around me, upon my dirty weapon and then on myself. A dreadful cry of lament escaped my mouth as soon as I had regained my senses and grasped what I had just done.   
> I had killed.

“Very good! Now I’m going to attack you from the left and I want you to either block the tackle or dodge it properly. Understood?”

I nodded. While Aidan shifted his weight to the left side, I made myself ready to dodge towards the opposite direction, and while his foot moved a tiny bit forward, I let myself drop to the side – only to get hit by Aidan’s greatsword. I stumbled to the ground confused, but got up again just the next moment. Aidan had switched sides in the last heartbeat and attacked from the right, where I wanted to evade his move. He laughed.

“Exactly what I expected. You rely too much on what I say! Stop using your brain and start to feel. You have to sense what your opponent will do next! If you start thinking, you’re long dead before reaching anything. Brains are for labs, but out here you have to believe in your instinct. Once again!”

This time Aidan didn’t announce a direction, but because he had just attacked from the right, I made the conclusion that his next move would come from the other side. But Aidan again chose the right side, and again I met the broadside of his weapon, but this time I managed to keep on my feet. It couldn’t go on like that! I felt anger rising inside of me. Aidan had hit me with more than one painful stroke already this training session, but I still wasn’t able to foresee his attacks. I would never become a good warrior if I kept on like that!

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Back during the training with Narru, I had already managed to listen to my instinct. But I wouldn’t let someone badger me for a whole week until I was able to counter. _Stop using your brain and start to feel…_

Piece by piece I blanked out everything that wasn’t important in that moment. The loud noises of Lion’s Arch, the sea in my back and the rush of my blood faded to one consistent noise, rising and ebbing away with the rhythm of my heart. The shape of the town, the cliffs and the water around me faded until I only saw Aidan in front of me, getting ready for his next move. _You can do this. Focus, listen to your instinct!_

In the blink of an eye I noticed dozens of different signs. The flicker in Aidan’s eyes towards the side he wanted to attack. The obvious posture to the other side with which he wanted to lead me astray again. The low-key scrape of his foot in the sand, as he shifted his whole weight. This time I wouldn’t let him beat me up and I wouldn’t dodge. I wanted to prove to the world, and most of all to me, that the many training sessions hadn’t been for nothing. That I indeed was worth of something, no matter what others would think of me.

So I took a deep breath, tasted the salty ocean in the air together with the slightly moldy scent of the aged wood. Holding the hammer tight with both hands, I waited for Aidan to start his attack while trying to recognize every even so tiny movement of his body so I could foresee where he wanted to attack next. Aidan quickly inhaled a breath and in the next moment, his greatsword was rushing towards me with full speed. But this time I had guessed right, ducked down under the sword and used the sway that had been left in Aidan’s move to throw him out of balance with a hard punch on his shoulder. It worked because Aidan hadn’t counted on it, and while he tumbled for a second with surprise and let down his guard, I turned around with attitude and smashed my hammer against his back with a loud cry to finally down him.

But the Norn wouldn’t let himself be defeated that easily; even though he had been surprised by my first counter attack, he had regained his senses quickly and hit back. He turned around with a pain-distorted face, lunged heavily while I was still gathering my balance from my last move, and let his weapon fall down right above my head. The helmet I wore would soften the hit if I wouldn’t be able to move aside, but I wanted to prove that I could achieve more. It wasn’t possible to dodge to the side, as there wasn’t enough time left. Thus Aidan wouldn’t strike my head but my legs instead as soon as I tried to roll, and those were way less secured than my head. Therefore I had only one more option, and with all the strength I had left, I heaved the hammer above my head so he collided with the sword with a loud _CLONG!_

The noise hurt my ears, and the power of the impact moved painfully up my arms into my back, but I saw my chance. Now it all depended on who of us would regain position faster. Aidan took a moment to get his balance back after the weapon had twisted his wrists, and while I couldn’t get a good hold onto the hammer’s shaft myself, I dropped the weapon and rammed the top of my helmet into Aidan’s stomach as hard as I could. With a cry, we both fell to the ground and Aidan had problems catching his breath while I sat in the grass right beside him, panting heavily and massaging my hurting shoulders.

Until now, Aidan had always held back with his attacks, but this time I had the feeling that he went one step further. Which I took for a good sign, because I was sure I slowly had reached the next step of my training, and it filled me with pride.

Aidan sat up while still panting and wiped away the sweat from his forehead, then he nodded towards me with acknowledgement. “Shorty, that was…not bad at all. You seem to…really have learned something lately. If you ask me…I think it is time to…let you fight other opponents too.”

I swallowed. Other opponents? “What are you talking about?”

Aidan laughed. “Letting you confront a minotaur or ogre might be a bit too early, but I thought about devourers, wolves…something small like that.”

“Pah. Small!? You have to be kidding me! Kekk has lost his leg because of such a small wolf.”

“But your friend didn’t have a full-scale training in the weeks before the fight, I suppose?”

I remained silent and shook my head. This was all I had wanted the whole time: for Aidan to increase the training intensity. But something about the thought made me hesitate, because while I was slowly getting better with Aidan’s techniques, it was a completely different thing to face a wild animal...on the other side, Aidan would intervene for sure if something went wrong, so it wouldn’t be too bad, right?

_At least you know where to get good replacements if you lose a body part._

I quickly threw a glance towards the sky. We still had some time left until sunset, so the training wasn’t over yet. Did Aidan intend to let me fight other enemies today?

He got up, shook the dust off his armor and signed me to follow him. I didn’t ask where he was going, but as we passed the area with all the city portals, I got curious. Wolves could be found all around Tyria, so where did Aidan intend to bring me?

In fact, he brought me to the main gate of Lion’s Arch, which I had seen multiple times by now, but never stepped through. Lion’s Arch basically had three main entry possibilities: using the portals, by the harbor or through the massive city gate leading to the Gendarran fields. There was another way through a cave that was close to the Priory, but it was rarely used by travelers. The city gate seemed to be the target now because we went past the Lionguards, and as we left behind the huge construct I took the opportunity and paused right on the bridge to take a look at Lion’s Arch from the outside.

While the city wall was the only thing I could see, there were still a few houses sitting on top of it, but the wall itself was so massive that it would definitely hold against the biggest attack coming from the land side. The enormous gate, elaborately designed into the form of a lion, seemed to roar, “Stay out if you have starting trouble in mind!”

The city was only vulnerable through air and water, which was probably still stuck inside the people’s minds. But after the city had been flooded completely dozens of years ago and had been totally destroyed, they had rebuild it piece by piece. And after the first attacks of Zhaitan, the harbor defenses had been upgraded and the stronghold on Claw Island had been built. I could only shake my head about the fact that I still had access to that completely random information, but everything else important was still hidden inside my head.

Aidan impatiently moved his feet and I finally turned away from the imposing wall and followed him to the west, as he seemed to know exactly where to lead us. While we walked, I thought about how pleasant it was to avoid traveling through the portals for once. I wasn’t only annoyed by the never ending monitoring, but they also were quite expensive to use and the travel itself was not always comfortable. Exiting Lion’s Arch through the main gate had no inconveniences at all: only those entering the city were being controlled.

We left a well-trodden path that we had followed quite awhile and were now heading towards a decent grove that had grown close to the swamp, which I could easily smell from here. I hoped that Aidan wouldn’t get closer to the stinking area, and I already craved the salty air of Lion’s Arch, even the damp jungle air of Maguuma. The presence of the sea was still noticeable here in Gendarran, but the air was filled with many different scents; the moldy swamp, and still the sweet touch of fresh snow. This was because the fields of Gendarran lay between Maguuma on one side with the Shiverpeaks on the other, and they were the connecting piece between the free city of Lion’s Arch and the main capital of the humans.

“What exactly are we looking for?” I asked Aidan after he had paused near a group of young saplings, searching for something on the forest edge, and the answer came faster than I had hoped for, in the shape of howling wolves not far away.

“You really want me to fight a wolf!?” I again had to think about Kekk, who had lost his leg during a wolf attack. But I didn’t know how incapable he had been of fighting back then…

Aidan snorted, but he didn’t turn his eyes from the forest edge, where a grey wolf was appearing between the trees’ shadows and coming right towards us while wailing with daunting howls.

“To fight one wolf would have been too easy! The challenge with wolves is that they call for aid as soon as they feel threatened. But since the inhabitants of Kryta have too many problems with these animals already, no one will cause problems if we cull a few of them – or rather if you do.”

I stared at the wolf in horror, while two more appeared behind the angry animal, and as I quickly turned around to declare Aidan a complete maniac, I realized that he was gone without a trace. _So that douchebag really dared to leave me alone with three wolves…_

I quickly grabbed my hammer and shifted my weight so I had balanced posture and could build up good momentum. The first time and even then three of them…this Norn really wanted to see me dead!

But Aidan knew when someone was ready for a real fight and when they were not. He had been training me for weeks now, and there was a reason he had gotten harder and more relentless with each time. While my progress was only subtly developing I hadn’t recognized it myself, and because Aidan had moved one step further every time I got stronger, I didn’t feel much better than I had at the beginning. But now that the wolves were launching at me all at once, I felt the impact of my training more than ever.

My head turned off every thought and made room for all my senses. Even though I was nervous, I could feel my pulse slowing down and could feel my sense of hearing intensify while everything around me blurred and disappeared until I only saw my enemies in front of me. It was as if someone had flipped a switch and replaced me for someone who had years of practice already when it came to fighting.

In slow motion I could see the wolves’ movements and saw that the biggest of them would get to me first. Judging the look in his eyes, I quickly knew where it wanted to attack. In a flowing movement I turned around my upper body without losing grip on my feet, and I swung the hammer to the front just in the moment that the wolf was gaping his mouth open wide to rip out my throat. The stone of my weapon met the beast’s gullet with full might, and with a painful cry it was thrown clear away, where it remained stunned for a while.

The other two animals had placed themselves to my left and right side in the meantime. My counter had slightly unsettled them, but the fact that I had hurt their Alpha made them angry.

Sweat was dripping off my forehead and onto my neck. I knew that I would only be able to fight off one wolf; but I still had to hold back the others enough so they wouldn’t hurt me too badly.

I decided to go for the wolf on my left and before the animal could react, I rammed my hammer into its skull so hard that a disgusting cracking noise sounded, causing an ice cold wave to run down my spine. The beautiful fur of the wolf was nothing more than a mixture of crushed bones and brain mass, and I was sure that if I had eaten something before my training, I wouldn’t have been able to keep it down now.

But there was no time for such thoughts, as the other wolf had bitten down into my pauldrons and the Alpha was starting to move again with a threatening growl.

I didn’t feel any pain from the bite because I wore a sturdy leather shirt under the mithril plates of my armor. It had slowed the fangs of the beast quite a bit so it would probably leave nothing more but a scratch. But the beast still clung to my arm and refused to let go, the tingling in my joints told me that I wouldn’t be able to hold the weight for much longer.

I grabbed the hammer with the wolf-laden arm as well as I could, then lifted my left hand and clawed my fingers into its ears before pulling with all my might. While the wolf yelped in pain and released its teeth, I freed my shoulder with a jolt and rammed it into the animal’s nose at the same time as hard as I could. My position didn’t allow me to perform a massive hit and it wasn’t enough to down the wolf.

I could feel my stomach turning around at the foreboding of what was about to happen, but I still grabbed the shaft of my weapon with both hands and thrust it into the chest of the wolf with no hesitation. I obviously had met the right point, as the wolf only flinched one more time and then lay on the ground with no more movement, a painful expression on its face that made me retch.

The Alpha was still alive though, and it had regained its strength – while being angrier than ever. Some blood was dripping off its maw, and it readied itself for a jump.

This time I couldn’t react fast enough, and the wolf dragged me to the ground and held me there, his front paws heavily on my chest. Saliva seeped out between his teeth, mixed with blood that covered my throat.

_Wouldn’t that be the perfect moment for Aidan to come out of his hiding spot and help me?_

It was hard to breathe under all the weight and even harder to ignore the terrible smell coming out of the wolf’s maw. I only had a few heartbeats left until the beast would make quick work of my bare and unsecured throat. But I wouldn’t die. Not today, and not because of this wolf.

I gathered all my strength for the last time, pushed the hammer aside. Clinging to the wolf’s body with both hands, I rolled myself so the animal was now laying on the ground. It growled one more time, not expecting such a counter from me. But I had already reached for my weapon again and was pushing the hammer onto the wolf’s throat as hard as I could.

The beast struggled beneath my grip, and I had a hard time holding onto the hammer. Its claws scratched my whole armor and even found places to cut through my skin, one time a paw even scratched my face, but I ignored the burning pain on my cheek.

It took forever until the struggles eased and the animal finally lay still. I waited even longer to make sure the Alpha wouldn’t move anymore until I let go and rolled to the side. Sitting in the grass I held onto my hammer with shaking hands. The metallic taste of blood inside my mouth suddenly mixed with something salty, and only then I realized that I was crying.

My eyes fell upon the three dead wolves lying around me, upon my dirty weapon and then on myself. A dreadful cry of lament escaped my mouth as soon as I had regained my senses and grasped what I had just done.

I had killed.

Horror shook me and I stared at the dead wolf that had received a blow right into the heart. The stomach was clearly visible and I could see a few rosy teats. It had been a female, and she had been suckling. I had been the one who killed her, and I had taken away a mother from her children.

A cold spread inside my body and the shaking in my hands grew stronger. Would there be someone to take care of the remaining pups? Or would they starve miserably and become eaten by other predators now that their mother was gone?

I got up with a jump and staggered back a few steps when I bumped into something that felt like a tree at first, but it was warm and eased behind me. _Aidan_.

_What have I done? What did you force me to do?_

Aidan put his hands onto my shoulders and squeezed them, but I could hardly feel the touch.

“Well done, shorty! Don’t worry about your armor; you’ll find armor smiths around every corner who will repair it in the blink of an eye. And about the wolves…they will be eaten as soon as we turn around.”

His words hurt like a thousand needles and they spread through my veins like venom.

“That’s all? Nothing more you have to say?” I whispered hardly audible, my voice breaking and so cold that it even surprised myself.

Aidan let go of me and placed himself in front of me so he could look into my face. His eyes widened with surprise as he saw the expression in my eyes, but he couldn’t hide the confusion about my reaction.

“Hey, what’s the matter? You finished those beasts off, and you did even better than I had expected! There really is a warrior hiding inside of you, we just have to tease it out of you. Besides, what’s the difference between this and Jormag’s servants that you had killed back in the Shiverpeaks?”

I snorted and the Norn cocked his head as if he was frantically trying to get what he had done wrong.

“You have forced me to kill, Aidan. I’m not talking about some dragon’s servants, because they have already been long dead inside. I am talking about _living, breathing_ creatures that still had a place inside this world”, I muttered.

There was something else inside my voice. Despite? Anger? I had already raised my weapon before, even before I fought Jormag’s servants. It had been a Krait, back at the attack of the lab in Splintered Coast, but in my opinion, I found them to be on the same tier as dragon minions.

“This wolf had pups that needed to be fed. And now she will never return to her pack – maybe I’m not only responsible for the deaths of these three, but also for all her pups! And you worry about my armor!?”

Aidan lifted his arms soothingly. “Hey, calm down, Szallejh. Take a deep breath. If I had known that you would care so much about that matter, I would’ve let you fight something different. But just think it through! These wolves are no civilized citizens of Tyria. They have caused more than enough problems already, and they were the death of more than one person. They kill everything that crosses their way – cattle and even children! Don’t you think such predators deserve to die? You have killed those three, but there’s a chance you have saved the lives of many humans living here in Kryta! Isn’t that worth it?”

I followed Aidan’s instructions and took a deep breath. And another. And another. Until I was sure that my hands wouldn’t shake and my voice wouldn’t break anymore. Maybe Aidan was right and the wolves had been a plague for the people living here. But did that entitle me to just finish off their lives like that?

“Still. It’s brutal. And it hurts.”

“It’s just wolves, by the Bear’s spirit!” Aidan still wore an expression of disbelief on his face. He couldn’t and didn’t want to understand why the death of those animals was touching me so deeply. And that made me angry.

“Just wolves!? They’re living beings, Aidan, inhabitants of Tyria like you and me! What gives us the right to judge who is allowed to live and who is not?” _Who had given me the right to kill the Krait? Did Krait have family too?_

Aidan shook his head, but before he could say something, I turned around and almost ran back to Lion’s Arch. While running there, I attached the hammer on my back once more.

Aidan called my name and hurried to catch up with me. “Wait! You’ve done the right thing. Sooner or later you will understand.”

“The training is done for today.” I shouted without looking at him. He had followed up to me with ease, but that didn’t stop me from ignoring him as much as possible. “I’m going home now.”

What I urgently needed now was a hot shower to get rid of all the dirt on my skin, the visible as well as the invisible.

“Hey! What about dinner? Kesh can’t wait to see you again tonight.”

As I didn’t answer his question, Aidan sighed and slowed down his pace, as if he had understood that it wouldn’t be of any use to follow me now.

“Think it through. You know where to find us.”

I didn’t turn around, and all the way from the Gendarran fields to the cleaning rooms in Rata Sum I didn’t lift my eyes from the floor a single time. When I entered the PeDACUR and the hot water ran down my bruised body, I started to shake again. My armor had been cleaned already and I would bring it to an armor smith the next day to fix it.

All the blood had been washed off my body but it still felt as if some kind of dirt was covering me, and no waters in this world could get it off.

This hadn’t been the first time that someone told me I would make a good warrior some day if I trained enough. But being a warrior sooner or later meant to kill, and if it felt like that every time, then I didn’t know if being a warrior truly was the way I wanted to follow. It had felt different, back in the Shiverpeaks. At that time, Narru and Nahraija had been with me, and our enemies had already been dead inside. We had just released them.

Those wolves had been something different though. I didn’t want to do that ever again.

But would it make a difference, now that I was already stained?

I allowed myself plenty of time, irritating the other Asura, but that evening I didn’t care. When I had remained under the stream of water so long that my skin was already wrinkling and I felt slightly dizzy from all the steam, I finally finished the program and strolled back to my room to get myself some proper clothes.

But I didn’t want to stay inside the room for the rest of the evening; there was only one person I wanted to see right now.

Zojja already had lots of experience with killing. She had faced Kralkatorrik and had sent Zhaitan to kingdom come, and even though she couldn’t always comprehend my thoughts and feelings, I at least knew that she would listen to me and would try to understand.

On the way to her lab I heard Aidan’s voice inside my head again and again. _It’s just wolves!_ Just wolves. But it was not just that for me! I hadn’t caused pain to someone ever before in my life, except for spiders and flies. How could he expect me to just accept the death of three living beings, after I had caused their deaths? Was he really so ruthless that he didn’t care about ending a life because it wasn’t worth it?

He was right to some point, because the wolves didn’t really live peacefully amongst the humans in Kryta. And I acted as if they were not animals, but humans that I had killed. Still it touched me, and I didn’t want to accept the fact that everyone saw their deaths as something self-evident.

Upon entering the lab, I almost directly bumped into Zojja, who had just been reprimanding one of her assistants again. Her face changed when she saw me, and with a quick hand movement she shooed the assistant back to their work place. She was about to say something, but without a word I threw my arms around her and buried my face in her shoulder. The hug hadn’t been planned, but I just had felt the urge to do that, and Zojja knew. While she inhaled sharply, she hesitantly patted my back until I removed my arms again.

“Huh, that was…unexpected! What happened?” She asked bluntly as always while leading us towards her area. I heaved myself on the stone table and pushed aside some notes to have more space, while I told Zojja about the training and everything going on in my head since then.

She started to work on her console while I spoke, but I knew well-enough that she was listening. And somehow I found it comforting to not stare into someone’s face. There was a long silence after I had finished talking, and my eyes followed the quick movements of Zojja’s fingers on the display like in trance.

Then finally, she sighed and slowed down her work a bit.

“What you feel is completely normal. The first time is always difficult, even more if you have never had any contact with death beforehand. It took me some time too until I could process the first blood on my own hands. But I have fought in many fights already, and more than one has died by my hand. This feeling will dull with time, believe me. It’s just important that you realize deep inside that what you did was right. Bear in mind that you haven’t killed innocent children, but rather predators. It doesn’t satisfy me to end one’s life, and never should. But as long as I’m aware that it’s the right thing to do, it’s not that hard anymore. You will feel the same, sooner or later.”

I was glad to get such an answer from Zojja without any mockery, but that she was so sure about me getting into such a situation again caused my stomach to hurt.

“You have never fought before you came to Tyria, have you?”

I nodded, even though Zojja probably couldn’t see that. “There’s no war where I come from. At least not in my country. And we have people who solve such conflicts for us…before I came here, I didn’t even know how to properly hold a weapon! And now I am expected to just kill someone. That’s wrong, and it’s happening too fast!” I shook my head to let go ofthat thought.

“That’s not true. No one expects you to just kill someone. But in contrast to your home, Tyria is facing war. Against the dragons, the bandits, centaurs, Charr. We are in need for skilled fighters, every single one of them. And we don’t need warriors who spare their enemies for a guilty conscience, losing their own lives in the process. Do you get what I’m telling you?”

I hummed in agreement, but did I truly understand? I wanted to believe that there was some quest waiting for me in Tyria and that there had been a reason I came here, but to go to war as a warrior for this land was not the answer I had wanted to hear when I had asked for my destination.

“Believe me; most citizens of Tyria don’t want to fight for the rest of their life as well. But this land doesn’t have another chance, because if we don’t fight, there will be no one else. And that will mean death for all of us. As you see, it’s either fighting and dying in a battle, or hiding and dying anyway.”

At least I hadn’t given up hope yet that I could return to my old life soon enough.

We remained silent for a while and I let my legs dangle while I thought about what Zojja had said. What would Narru think about her daughter who was already giving up after three wolves?

As if Zojja had heard my thoughts, she ended her program and watched me from the side.

“Hey, maybe you should busy yourself with other thoughts so you stop spreading the gloom. A message arrived for you this morning, from Narru. It was the simplest way to reach you, that’s why she chose this way over my console. Maybe you want to read through her message.”

Zojja opened the letter and made place where I could read it. She took the opportunity to argue with her assistant again and to continue from where I had interrupted them. I cut out their voices with a faint chuckle and focused on what Narru had written.

_Szallejh,_

_It has been quite awhile since we have last met. Aidan sends me reports of your training progress regularly and I’m proud of you. But I definitely wouldn’t be sad about seeing you in person again, because I imagine there’s a lot to talk about. No one has doubts anymore that Tequatl will make its final move soon, and that’s why we will stay on the Splintered Coast to be ready when it comes. Only when that is done will we leave the lab of the United Arcanists, and I can’t tell yet where we will be stationed next. But until then, you know where to find me._

_I hope you’re getting along in Rata Sum and my sister isn’t bullying you around too much. Please get in touch as soon as you received this message._

_Your mother_

The last words made me smile. Narru had felt strange for sure, as well as I did now while reading her message. But those words chased away some of the cold inside my bones. After all her expectations, she had not only acknowledged me as her daughter, but she obviously tried to get into her role as a mother as well.

Since Zojja was still busy with her assistant and hadn’t forbidden me to touch the console, I opened a new window to answer Narru. I too hesitated at first to greet her with _Mother_ , but it felt right.

Once again I was thankful that I had been welcomed by so many people here. And in the same moment I felt guilt that I had left Aidan like that. What would he say if I didn’t come to dinner? Would he understand or would I hurt him? And Kesh…as terrifying and weird as she could be, there had been a part of me that wanted to meet her again tonight.

Zojja returned while I had just sent away my answer, and we switched places so she could continue her work. But I restlessly stepped from one foot to another; wanting to travel to Lion’s Arch and apologize to Aidan for my behavior.

My aunt seemed to feel that, because she sighed and stood with her hands on her hips.

“Your visits in my lab have become rarer since the last time – and shorter. While I should be glad that you don’t bother me too much, I seem to miss your presence somehow. And now you want to leave again, am I right?”

I hesitated at the honesty concerning Zojja’s feelings, but I felt flattered at the same time thatnot only did she accept my ongoing presence around her, but she also approved of it sometimes.

With a shrug, I pulled myself off the table. “My friends are waiting for me and I don’t want to disappoint them. But if you want, I can visit you more often the next time.” I gave her a wink and Zojja rolled her eyes as though she regretted her words. But then she gave me a quick smile, and I said my goodbye with a wave before hurrying out of the lab.

It was late already and Kesh and Aidan were probably already eating dinner, if they were still there at all.

The gate control couldn’t go fast enough, before I was finally running through the city of Lion’s Arch. With a racing heart, I cleared two steps at a time while running up the tower to our standard restaurant. I could see both Kesh and Aidan seated at our favorite table.

In front of Kesh sat a bowl that was still half filled with shrimps. Aidan was holding what was most likely his tenth beer for the night, but he smiled when he recognized me and called over towards my direction.

Kesh greeted me with a rough hug, her fur tickling my nose and causing me to sneeze. Then she offered me some shrimp which I politely declined.

“Good that you decided to come anyway. I was almost sure you wouldn’t get here today.”

“Pah!” Kesh hit her paw on the table. “While Baersson was crying like a baby, I didn’t have a single doubt about you. I know you, little rat!”

“Hey, I didn’t…” Aidan begun, but then he just grumbled and returned his attention to the beer.

I took a seat next to Kesh and declined as a waiter wanted to take my order. There was no chance I could possibly eat something today, because I still saw the image of the wolves behind my eyes from time to time.

“Thanks for trusting in me, Kesh. Aidan…I wanted to apologize. It’s possible that I slightly overreacted earlier. You were right, maybe I did Kryta a favor, but it was still…hard for me.”

Arrhakesh didn’t ask further. Either Aidan had already told her about what had happened, or she was just the attentive listener again and was connecting the details herself – that was what I appreciated about her a lot. Kesh didn’t ask questions if you didn’t want to answer them, no matter the context.

“It’s okay, shorty. I just didn’t think you would react that way. But I understand – I guess.” He watched me from the rim of his mug. “But let’s not talk about this now, okay? I’ll think of something nice for next week – something that won’t kill the two of us. Does that sound like a plan for you?”

I nodded and examined Arrhakesh with fascination while she swallowed her shrimp piece by piece. With pure pleasure she ate all of them tail first, so they would have experienced as much of their end as possible if they had still been alive…

But that was just Kesh, and surprisingly enough it didn’t bother me as much anymore as it had when I first met her. Meanwhile I had learned that she wouldn’t eat me like one of those poor shrimps, and I was almost sure that she would leave my body in peace if I died one day. Almost.

Both stared at me with questioning eyes, and I giggled. “Ah, it’s nothing. I just enjoy having friends like you.”

Pride sparked inside Arrhakesh’s eyes as soon as she realized what I had said. She gave me a thankful smile and swallowed down some of the shrimps with whatever stuff she was drinking.

“Friends? You can bet your life on it, little rat!”

Aidan stretched himself over the table too and disheveled my hair with his huge hand. “I’m glad you finally came to accept it.”

While I watched Kesh with how she slowly consumed her shrimp, and Aidan continued emptying one beer after another, all of the remaining cold suddenly left my body and I was just glad to not be alone in this foreign world.

AN:

A huuuuge thanks to Sayna and Zappy, who will proofread my chapters from now on! You're a great help, both of you ♥


	14. Scarlet's War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Someone has to finally put an end to this madness. She will otherwise destroy all of Tyria without a reason.”
> 
> Ronnée stared at Meppo with a raised brow. “This woman graduated from all colleges with outstanding degrees. You really don’t think she bothers to create all this mess without a plan, do you?”

"Hey, Edda! Where are we going to order lunch tomorrow?“ I asked, casually leaning against the table. I turned around my upper body to see Eddda standing behind me, laughing when her face turned into a grim look.

“You’re doing this on purpose, don’t you?” she asked.

I shrugged and gave her a wink. “Just wanted to test the waters to see if you’re still going to attack me, or if you have lost interest already.”

The grumbling noise from Eddda's mouth caused the others inside the lab to look up shortly, but they quickly returned their attention to their work. “You know, I should punch you for that last comment alone.”

“Then do it", I countered. I watched Eddda expectantly while she kept polishing her arm prosthetic, but I swallowed down the other teasing comments when I saw there was no further reaction from her side. “So, lunch? Tomorrow? Where?”

“Skritt-brain!” Kekk called out, flinging an oil-covered rug flying through the air. He had been watching our verbal spat for quite a while and shook his head. “Why do we never order lunch from Bromm anyway?”

I caught the rug and tossed it back to him. “Someone else would have to get the food with Eddda tomorrow then" I explained, restraining a cough. While I ignored the surprised looks from the others, I felt my face turn red as soon as Eddda started to laugh. For a while now, I had tried not to face Bromm, and I wanted to continue that for some while longer.

“Heh, you couldn't possibly have lost your heart to the handsome, unapproachable cook from next door, will you?” she asked.

“Nah, that’s not it. It is… complicated", I explained.

_Right. He allowed you to stay for the night after you almost drank yourself into a stupor, and you messed up because you’re simply not smart enough for such a good-looking Asura._

Varnas' eyes grew big as she turned around on her chair. “Was there something going on between you two!?”

I could see Eddda wanted to reply about the matter, and I frantically searched for a quick way to change the subject.

Ronnée suddenly intervened. And for the first time I was glad for her meddling.

“Is this the progeny-cradle or what? You should be able to behave reasonably effective inside this laboratory", she leered.

I tried not to feel insulted by the shady glance she was throwing towards Eddda and myself.

Ronnée continued. “We will get lunch at Bromm’s tomorrow and Eddda and I will go and grab it. That is all there is to it.”

When Ronnée continued to stare at me, I soundlessly formed a 'thank you' with my lips. She turned around again and focused on the programming of our new communicator prototype. In the same moment, I felt a strong fist punch my shoulder.

Eddda stood right behind me with a huge grin on her face, and she was so close that I nearly jumped in surprise.

“We’ll talk about this matter later”, she whispered so faintly that only I could have heard it.

I shoved her aside with another grin. Eddda wouldn’t leave this be for sure until she knew the reason for my reluctance, and I was glad that she didn’t force me to tell it in front of the whole krewe.

Kekk handed me one of the prosthetics still in its individual components and tasked me to screw it together as best as I could. Even though I had no idea what most of the parts were for, at least I had learned where to fix certain components. It felt good to be useful in one way or another.

The krewe wouldn’t mind if I busied myself around the lab talking to them, just as long as I didn’t destroy anything. But I had felt entirely useless during these last weeks, and the prospect of possibly becoming a part of the Cybernetics-Krewe was a huge motivation for me.

I would probably never become a great prosthetics builder like Kekk or Ronnée, but at least I could use the knowledge gained here if I eventually wanted to apply to one of the colleges.

Although it had gone quiet inside the lab, Eddda didn’t stop sneaking looks at me while I tried to focus on my work. Only the omnipresent hum of the machinery and the clicking of the prosthetics filled the air, which was a combination of sounds that was already familiar and soothing to me.

The krewe had achieved steady progress when it came to our communicator. The first prototype had been quite successful on short distances, but the quality had dropped quickly with longer distances. Not only that, but there had been no image yet.

Meppo had come up with the groundbreaking idea that I still didn’t understand, but it managed to increase the range quite a bit. And thanks to Ronnée's programming skills, the new prototype would even be stable enough to transfer an image at the same time. Though we still didn’t know what quality it would be and how long the result could be maintained.

I examined the prosthetic thoroughly while assembling one of the connecting pieces. It would become a hand prosthetic, and it was so delicate that the applicant could only be a woman. The metal on the finger pieces was partly colored in a way that resembled blood red patterns covering the mostly grey material; such a filigreed work that it had taken Varna hours to finish.

With a smirk, I wondered how it would be to wear such a prosthetic. How would it feel to work with it? How could someone perform accurate movements with a machine that was linked to the body’s nerve tract, and partly even more precise than with a hand made of flesh?

“Hand this over to me, will you?” Eddda asked just as soon as I had finished assembling the prosthetic. Eddda herself would never be able to wear it as the construct was way too delicate for such a buff woman like her. But to my full surprise, Eddda clashed the prosthetic against one of the tables with all her might – and then bit on one of the connecting pieces!

Luckily the construct was strong enough, and with a satisfying nod, Eddda finally handed the prosthetic over to Kekk. He inserted some sort of chip as the last step, and carefully wrapped it up before labeling the package.

Meppo would deliver all the prosthetics we managed to finish today to their customers, and until then all packages were stored under Kekk’s work table where they would be safe from likely explosions or other blowups. He allowed me to take over the errands on some days when the lab closed early enough, as it gave me more than enough time before my work started.

But this would not be the case today, as I only had less than an hour remaining and it didn’t look like the Krewe members would come to an end soon.

It was exhausting to spend most days in Zojja’s lab or with the Krewe and then also manage to get to my waitress job or train with Aidan afterward. But it was a welcomed distraction, as my brain was still plagued with the question of how I was going to return home – and if it was even possible at all. The later became more and more unlikely to me and I preferred to build the basics as much as possible in this new world.

The lab door was pushed open and Meppo charged in, the few hairs on his head ruffled and a worried expression on his face. Varna put her work down to give him a hand with the heavy bag he had been carrying – new orders and their prepayments, as well as return deliveries.

It had taken me way too long to realize that those two Asura were actually married. They didn’t show any signs of affection inside the lab atop other emotional connections, but I also learned that asuran marriages were rarely based on true emotion.

In the case of Varna and Meppo, it had been the Krewe and the inventions they worked on together that had caused them to consociate. I still didn’t know how they thought about having children, but I was sure that the marriage wouldn’t last after the Krewe winded up some day.

Though this was unlikely to happen soon, Meppo gave Varna a thankful nod while dropping down onto one of the chairs. None of us dared to break the silence, and after Meppo had taken some deep breaths to calm down, he started to report by himself.

“I’ve just been to Hoelbrak… it’s unbelievable”, he shook his head and snorted. “All the streets are overfilled with refugees from the Shiverpeaks. As far as I heard, the situation in the Citadel is no different either. Scarlet is about to destroy the whole area with her alliance and the main cities don’t know where to put the homeless anymore. Hoelbrak fears to be the next victim of Scarlet’s alliance soon. At this rate, Lion’s Arch will be overrun by refugees next. If that's already not the case.”

He snorted again and got up to wander up and down the lab aimlessly. “Someone has to finally put an end to this madness. She will otherwise destroy all of Tyria without a reason.”

Ronnée stared at Meppo with a raised brow. “This woman graduated from all colleges with outstanding degrees. You really don’t think she bothers to create all this mess without a plan, do you?” she asked, turning on her chair to face the console again before tapping the keyboard of the display while talking to us.

“Believe me, she does have her motives. And judging by the whole alliance and the facilities she’s building, she likely intends to rob the next bank in Lion’s Arch. While I can’t connect all the dots so far, it already causes me a headache. If someone is working with so much effort… it has to mean that there is something behind the motive that is going to affect all of us. But unless I am mistaken, commander Tippa has already started to gather people to look further into all this. Tippa has managed to kill a dragon – she should be able to stop a maddened genius without much of a problem.”

What Ronnée said definitely made sense, but it was the first time since knowing her that I noticed she sounded completely confident about her own words. And that had to mean something for sure, as I rarely knew any other person who was as narcissistic and self-opinionated as Ronnée.

But there was something else still bothering me. The headache had returned during the conversation, and the barrier inside my head seemed to pulsate as though it wanted to hide the information that would have been useful right now.

I agreed with Ronnée on all terms: Scarlet was planning something big. Something that none of us were able to oversee at this point.

A sudden memory popped up in my mind: Aidan, Arrhakesh and I sitting in our favorite restaurant in Lion’s Arch. The conversation about Zhaitan’s fall and what would come next. I had been so convinced that Mordremoth would be the next dragon to cause problems, even though he was deep asleep still. Was there a connection? What made me so sure that it wouldn’t be Jormag attacking next, since they were already showing clear signs of activity?

I tried to chase away the thoughts by shaking my head. Silence had fallen over the lab as everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Only the jingling of coins could be heard as Varna counted them and put them into the safe, and now there was the sound of rustling parchment as she sorted through the orders.

Kekk tried to lift the mood several times by starting some small talk conversations, but he gave up on this after only receiving awkward silence in return.

I felt pretty useless since there was nothing more for me to do at that moment. Meppo finished one more prosthetic that I had already screwed on earlier and sent Eddda to field development with it to test its suitability. This one had been less delicate, allowing Eddda to fix it on her own prosthetic. I could read in her face that she was excited to finally be able to work on something practical again.

Instead of watching the others being productive, I figured I could prepare for the evening since I wanted to meet with Aidan again for my training. The Krewe would close down for the day soon anyway, and since I wasn’t officially hired (and without a paycheck yet), I could go and leave whenever I wanted to.

Thus, I said my goodbyes and shouldered my backpack with the few belongings I owned and headed towards the dorm rooms. It was hot, and the stiff air intensified the smells around me in an almost unbearable way.

The Cybernetics-lab was located on one of the lower layers of Rata Sum’s cube, which was close to the slums as most people called them. In fact, they were nothing but just another level higher than the catacombs. Though they were far less clean and civilized than the other parts of the city.

The Asura living and working inside the slums were those who would have been called outcasts by the others, and things happened there that no one talked about on the cube’s surface. I had never been there myself since it wasn’t really a place for tourists, and there was nothing else attracting me to it.

But on such days like this one, where the air was almost crackling with heat, all the noises and sounds that the “civilized” people usually tried to ignore escaped from the slums to the surface: The clashing and bursting of metal, the reek of smoke and refuse that hadn’t been disposed properly, and sometimes even shreds of loud discussions and fights.

I shuddered at the thoughts of what would happen if I entered the slums. Alone. Nothing good supposedly, and luckily it was not something I intended to do.

I quickened my pace towards the dorms, but suddenly I was confronted and held up by a golem that had been following me for a while. It was a small thing, with its round silver body reaching only to my belly. On every corner of its surface I could see colorful lights blinking and beeping. Atop of the round cap that was supposed to be the head was a display attached, on which my name flashed up in virulent lights.

A robotic voice started to beep at the same time: “S-Z-A-L-L-E-J-H. Tar-get i-den-ti-fied. Start trans-fer-ring mes-sage.”

Slightly startled, I simply stared at the golem. Until that moment I hadn’t received a message that day, and I wasn’t quite sure how to accept it.

“Ehh… yes?” I answered, as it was the only thing that came out of my mouth. But it seemed to be enough for the golem. It resounded another beep and instead of my name, a message now appeared on the display. I curiously bent over the glowing letters to have a better read.

_Dear Szallejh!  
  
_

_I hope you’re been alright so far. The time I spent in Orr has been truly wonderful, and Trahearne will stay there even longer. But for me, it is time to return back home. Meet me in the Grove tomorrow! There is something I want to give you. And don’t worry; I’ll find you.  
  
_

_Your friend,  
Nahraija_

My heart bounced as I read those words. Nahraija was back in the Maguuma, and she was alright! With a huge grin on my face, I read the message a second time so I wouldn’t oversee anything important. During her time in Orr, Nahraija had only sent me a single letter that had arrived after what seemed like an eternity, and it had been in a condition one couldn't describe as 'legible' anymore.

But knowing that she was back in my area brightened my mood quite a lot, and meeting her the next day was far better than any of my previous meetings today.

The display darkened and with another beep, the golem started to move again and disappeared back into the crowd without asking for another confirmation. I decided to ask her tomorrow just how exactly a sylvari had managed to send me a message via a golem. From what I knew, sylvari didn’t make use of asura-technology in The Grove, did they?

I unlocked my door with a smirk and threw the bag into the corner before dropping down onto my bed. There was no need for me to take a shower right now, since it would definitely be a necessity after the training. But I was tired and had enough time left to nap for a while. I crossed my arms behind my head and allowed the buzzing of the air ventilation system lull me into a doze to dislodge the thoughts of Scarlet, alliances and dragons out of my mind for a bit.

When I woke up, the daylight-sensor that I had attached on the ceiling some time ago showed me that dusk was slowly setting. That meant that I hadn’t slept longer than an hour or two; though it was hard to tell without a proper clock. But I had managed to develop a quite good inner clock during these last few weeks, and the daylight-sensor was also a huge help for a room without any windows or timers.

After stretching my tired bones, I got into the armor that Narru had gifted me earlier. She deserved another visit too in the near future, but right now I didn’t know when or how. " _One thing after another"_ , I thought while I closed the straps on my arm protectors and put on my boots.

Considering the high temperatures, a _long_ shower would be needed after the training for sure, even though it would have cooled notably in Lion’s Arch by now. It meant there would still be unbearably high temperatures. And if I wanted to experience a proper winter feeling, I would have to go to Kryta or the Shiverpeaks. Neither Rata Sum nor Lion’s Arch would get much snow supposedly.

Zojja had told me that Divinity’s Reach held the most popular festivities during the year, and it held the highest regard for Wintersday. She hadn’t seemed to be very excited about it, but I would definitely take a look once it was closer to the time for some festivities. And even though I wasn’t a friend of the cold in general, some snow and festive mood could never be bad. There wouldn’t be Christmas of course in Tyria, but there would be plenty of colorful decorations and gifts… which came close enough.

After getting something small to eat on the way, I headed towards the portal to Lion’s Arch. Meppo’s words ran through my head again as I took a bite off the sweet pastry.

If the main cities in Kryta and the Shiverpeaks got overrun by refugees, would Rata Sum be next? Unlikely, but you could never tell… The Arcane Council would probably never allow the city being overrun by dull aggressive and desperate Bookahs.

_Yeah, I was sure that this would be the explanation they’d give._

The area around the portals in Lion's Arch seemed to be more busy than usual, and I saw the same guy that I always saw whenever I travelled there. I wondered if he simply lacked a private life, since he seemed to be a lot grumpier today. Or maybe it was just my imagination, because of all that was going on with Scarlet?

The monitor let me pass after he scanned my tag, and I soon realized that the gloomy atmosphere hadn’t just been imagination. I could sense the change as soon as I had stepped through the portal. While I descended the ramp, the tension and turmoil that could be felt in the vibrant air nearly struck me down. The streets were overflowing with refugees on every corner, some obviously hysterical while others were hopeless. They could be recognized by their dirtied clothes, bags, pouches and carts they carried with them.

It was exactly how Meppo had told us: Scarlet’s War had caused thousands of people to lose their homes and if Lion’s Arch seemed to be the only place left for them. At the view of all the Norn that were lingering around alone or in small groups, I couldn’t help but worry about Aidan.

_Had he been forced to give up his home too? Did he have a family he had to care for?_

A sudden realization hit me just in that moment: I knew almost nothing about those people I called my friends.

Exhaling a sigh, I forced my feet to move towards Macha’s Landing, where I usually met with Aidan for our training. Even though the sun was already setting, its last rays of light still burnt on the metal of my armor and had caused me to break out in sweat. But at this point, I was at least able to wear the weight over a couple hours without it bothering too much.

With a smirk, I thought about the day I had put on the armor for the very first time. I hadn’t even been able to wear it longer than just a few minutes back then. And now, almost half a year later, my abilities had advanced a lot.

Half a year… I shook my head in disbelief. It felt so unreal that I had arrived in this strange world so long ago – and I still didn’t know how to get back. And I wondered what would happen to my human body? Would it just disappear until I returned? Or did another soul take over my place?

I leant against the white concrete of the Landing which was pleasingly cool compared to the hot sun. Strange. There had been no training session in all those previous weeks where Aidan had arrived later than me. Time continued to pass by without any sign of him.

Watching the turmoil around the harbor helped eliminate some of the time. Children were playing at the shore, trying to catch some fish, or were playfully splashing each other with water. Some wandered restlessly along the pathway. A few of the harbor workers conversed with refugees while unloading one of the ships that had put in just recently.

Most of the conversations I could overhear centered around Scarlet. The fear of how far her war would still go and many times the question was asked it Lion’s Arch was still a safe place.

And suddenly, as if this question had been a key word, I got captured in some kind of inner movie; a vision that felt completely real. While it happened, I knew that the blockage inside my head had slightly opened and it brought forth information to light that was supposed to stay hidden.

But what I saw frightened me to the highest degree of fear, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t stop it.

_I was running._

_My feet barely touched the ground, raised sand behind them…_

_Sand?_

_A sense of foreboding overcame me, as I thought to recognize my always recurring nightmare. But the ground under my feet was dry; no water kept on rising, no pain shattered my body. Only my lungs burnt like fire, as if I had already run a marathon three times from Maguuma to Ascalon and back again._

_I opened my eyes. Radiant light dazzled me, but my legs carried me onwards. Piece by piece, I started to recognize my surroundings, green hills with windmills, mountains in the distance with such a beautiful sight that it should have been able to calm me down – and still I could hear alarm bells ring inside my mind. I wasn't alone, as shadows that seemed to be Tyria’s inhabitants ran next to me and the air was filled with blatant panic._

_With might and determination, I forced my feet to stay still and looked around. A flaming inferno extended down the hill, the heat burning on my face while billions of sparks ascended to the sky._

_It was a city that was burning, causing its people to flee in droves from the debilitating flames. Dread filled every part of me as the screams of the dying reached my ears._

_Who would be capable of doing something like that?_

_While fear and shock paralyzed me, another voice mingled with the sea of sorrows. A twisted laughter beyond all rationality, whose voice belonged to someone who had lost every part of their sanity already a very long time ago._

_Scarlet Briar._

I awoke from the daydream, gasping for air. It had been so clear just the blink of an eye ago, but now with one heartbeat later, the images inside my head were already blurred and the more I tried to remember them, the more obscure they became. I knew that feeling, and I hated it.

Something was about to happen, something bad, and I should know about it. But my memory was blocked once more, and it was only after those images became reality, that I’d be able to gain access to my memory again.

While I rubbed at my forehead to try and eliminate the familiar headache, a familiar voice sounded in my ear that I could identify as Aidan’s. Relieved to see that he was alright, I turned around to the direction where the voice came from, and my eyes opened wide.

Instead of seeing Aidan alone and in fighting gear as usual, he approached me now with a huge jute sack thrown over his shoulder. Furthermore, he was in the company of what had to be his family.

A woman walked beside him, as tall as Aidan and judging from her muscles she was as strong as a bear. Faint white hair was held off her forehead by a golden headband, and it fell down her back in a thick braid. Her clothes were made of dark leather that had been decorated with fur garnishments, and the parts thats of skin which were uncovered showed delicate tattoos. The only sign of age were the wrinkles in her face, as her white eyes shone with the wit of a hundred years and the soulfulness of a child at the same time.

She and Aiden made a wonderful picture, with a total of five children scampering around them. The oldest of them was a girl of maybe thirteen years, and she was carrying the youngest boy who likely had only reached his second summer on her shoulders. Next to them were two more boys, obviously twins, who didn’t leave each other’s side. Lastly, was a girl that was just old enough to walk on her tiny shaky legs.

Aidan’s face brightened at the sight of me and he hurried towards me, smirking at the surprised look in my face. “Hey, tiny mouse! How nice to see you. I completely forgot to cancel the training for today, but now that you’re here, you can just as well say hi to my family!”

He placed the jute sack on the ground and laid one of his massive arms around his likewise bulky wife. “This is the charming Henriette. Henna is mute, but there’s no one I’d prefer to discuss things.” Aidan looked at his wife and his eyes were filled with nothing but fondness.

But then I met the glance of Henriette's colorless eyes, and my blood froze to ice.

She gave me a friendly smile and the kindness even reached her eyes, but as soon as our eyes met, it seemed as if she would inhale every piece of information about me in just one heartbeat. Those eyes almost scream: _Say no more. I know. About you; what you are._

I stared at her spellbound until Aidan got me out of my trance by clearing his throat. Could it be possible that this woman was one of us?

Aidan introduced me to his children, who were obviously not happy with having to stand still for so long at least until their mother shooed them away with a move of her hand. She was still smiling and whenever her eyes met mine, I was flooded with a wave of thoughts. A whisper that repeated itself like a mantra: _I know who you are_.

I forced myself to look away and focused on Aidan instead. “Why did you want to cancel the training for today? And what leads you here – I mean, all of you?”

Aidan's face darkened a bit. “Scarlet”, he murmured. “We had no other choice but to leave our home. To my advantage, I have a friend living a bit outside the city and he has offered us to stay with him until this war is over. You can accompany us there if you like.”

“Oh”, was all I could say, as I was too busy staring at the jute sack next to Aidan’s feet. Such a big family and this bag of belongings was all they had taken with them? Would they ever be able to return to their home, or would Scarlet destroy it too like so many others before?

But now that I was in Lion’s Arch, I had no other plans for the rest of the evening and I decided that I could join them as well, so I nodded. It was never a bad thing to meet new people, and Aidan had a good intuition for nice people as far as I knew.

We started to move, and the children followed behind with some distance while they were playing. Aidan led us out of the city gate and over the great bridge, then past the river where most of our training sessions had taken place. We eventually arrived at a huge estate that was surrounded by elaborately cut trees, whose owner would with no doubt be part of the richest and most powerful people in Lion’s Arch.

I could hardly begin to believe that such a snot had been friends with Aidan, but I figured my first impression was just mistaken.

Arrhakesh had been an example of that, as I had been profoundly convinced that she would eat me during our first meeting. But she turned out to be quite the nice, huge cat in the end, even though she was still completely mad.

We entered a path that was laid out with smooth and shiny stones that led to an enormous entrance door, and not even the smallest piece of weed could be seen on either side. Whoever was taking care of this garden, had made a precise job.

Just as Aidan lifted his hand to knock with the huge door knocker in the form of a Lion, the door was opened reveal a servant dressed in plain black clothes, depicting the perfect image of a butler.

He was small, full of wrinkles, had a clumsy nose and a half-bald head, but he seemed to be friendly and forthcoming. The only thing missing was a white cloth thrown over his arm. He greeted every single one of us with a polite nod and invited us in. “The sir is already waiting for you.”

The elderly man who introduced himself as Bernard, led us into a huge atrium that was lit by dozens of scones. Already this front room of the manor seemed to be bigger than an average house. The ceiling was taller than two floors and was completely covered in pieces of art; paintings of men who, judging after their look and posture, cared more for themselves than for the whole rest of the world. And those paintings were exact copies of the humans that lived inside this estate.

I shook my head while we passed countless doors interrupting the immaculate white walls in regular intervals. The tiles beneath my feet were polished so flawlessly that the ceiling mirrored itself in them almost as though the floor was painted itself.

Bernard opened a winged door that was almost as big as the entrance door, and we found ourselves inside of a room that could have depicted the equivalent to a noble doctor’s office. The walls inside this room were painted a pearl white color too, and there was a huge window inside the ceiling that showed us the already darkening evening sky. Some lonely stars mirrored themselves in the tiles when Bernard requested for us to take a seat in a row of huge lounge chairs. We were told to wait until one of the two doors that were placed on each side of the wall would open.

After Bernard had offered us some tea and cookies before leaving the room, Aidan’s oldest daughter exhaled a sigh and put down her sibling so he could scramble around the room.

I watched as she restlessly wandered around the room, and it was obvious by her actions that she didn’t seem to be comfortable in this house at all. To be honest, I completely shared those thoughts.

I didn’t like snots at all, and even less when they were flaunting their wealth and influence like this. But now that I was here, retreat wasn’t possible anymore. Instead I went to the silver tray that the butler had left behind for us and took one of the cookies to have something to busy myself with.

The girl stood still next to me and examined me and the plate with cookies curiously. She was already taller than me, but as an Asura you quickly got used to always being the smallest person in the room, even though the others were just children.

While I ate my cookie, I held out the still well-stocked plate to the girl. She hesitated at first, but then decided to take a piece of pastry and nodded thankfully.

Aidan giggled, causing both the girl and me to stare at him with surprise.

“Alvenn doesn’t speak, just like her mother, you know? One could almost assume that she’s a mute as well, but she can talk actually. She just doesn’t want to”, he explained.

My eyes wandered back to the girl, but she quickly grabbed another cookie without looking at me and then continued to wander around.

I did the same and placed the plate back on the tray. While I didn’t like this place, the pastry was marvelous. No sooner than I had finished the second cookie, the door to my left opened and a man in his thirties entered, dressed in a splendid gown and covered in an almost awkwardly strong cloud of perfume.

But whatever personable impression this man wanted to make on others, he couldn’t hide the fact that his face was ugly through and through. His body was adorned with blotchy skin and a beaked nose that looked to be too long. He had unhealthy and thin lips that revealed a gap-toothed and awry grin.

I was sure that he had plucked his eyebrows as they were so thin that they were barely recognizable anymore. His eyes were not only too small for the face, but they were surrounded by huge dark eye rings encircling them. The conclusion of this image was made by his black hair, cut short in a military style, but with an impure vermiculated pattern shaved inside it.

He gave every single one of us a short look, and then he noticed the boy scrambling around on the floor and spreading leftovers all over the tiles. At first, I figured that he would scold the boy for dirtying the room. But instead, he lifted the boy high up in the air and spun him around while tickling his belly. On top of that, the boy seemed to enjoy every bit of it!

I stared at him dumbfoundedly, as this man was most likely the ugliest person I had ever seen. But I already knew that I wouldn’t like him, no matter how much he loved Aidan’s family. The only one who seemed to share my point of view was Alvenn, as she had fled to the opposite corner of the room and was now watching the man with skeptic eyes.

Aidan got up, grinning from ear to ear while he held out his hand. “Connor, what a pleasure!”

Connor put the boy down on his shoulders so he could shake the Norn’s hand and then turned to properly greet Henna. She was smiling happily too, and shook the hand of the ugly man who was also a lot smaller than her.

Then his eyes fell upon me and I was glad that he didn’t reach out his hand, but merely gave me a nod. “An Asura, I see! I didn’t know that you called one of those your friends, Aidan”, he mocked. I snorted at the condescending tone in his voice as I didn't like it at all.

But I seemed to be the only one recognizing his behavior, because Aidan just laughed as though it had been a joke, grabbed some pastries and spoke. “She’s my trainee. Also a very good one at that! And since I had to deny her today’s training, I made her the offer to come here with us. Szallejh, this is Connor Letho. He is the friend I have told you about.”

A doubtful hum was the only answer I got from the snot. At least it was good to know that the aversion was mutual. And this time I was sure that the tables couldn’t be turned as easily as with Kesh. The charr’s kindness was at least honest, and I could forgive her for the fact that she would’ve wanted to eat me or use my body for experiments.

But this human?

I glanced over to Alvenn, who looked just as unhappy as I. But when she recognized my look, she gave me a grin and I knew exactly what she was thinking at that moment. With a nod towards Connor, I rolled my eyes, which caused the girl to laugh out loud. And when Connor moved his attention towards the twins, she stuck out her tongue for just a moment so I was the only one to see it.

This would probably be a long, long evening. But thanks to Alvenn, there would at least be some entertainment at the cost of some obviously arrogant snot.

And that alone would be worth a reason for staying.


End file.
